Reflections
by SpicedGold
Summary: Kristoff finally asks Anna to marry him, after a suitable amount of time spent getting to know one another. Even Elsa approves. Doesn't she? Anna's world gets turned upside down when, close to the wedding, Elsa inexplicably changes her mind, and refuses to tell anyone why. What is she hiding, and will she tell Anna before the relationship between them crumbles?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Preparations

**Welcome to the not-in-the-least-bit anticipated sequel to Facing the Storm, in as much as it has one of my characters in it. Otherwise, it doesn't relate to the first story in any way except for one or two throwaway references to events there. If you haven't read Facing the Storm, it's not necessary to read this.**

**Also, I assume Elsa's birthday is in the summer since her coronation was. The whole 'come of age' line tipped me off, and it's marginally important to the story. Carry on.**

It had been very late at night the first time Kristoff asked Anna to marry him.

And, not in the least bit cautioned by the previous man who had asked her to marry him, she had squealed 'yes' in a pitch humans shouldn't be able to reach, temporarily stunning him and effectively immobilizing him for her to attempt to squash him in a hug.

That first proposal had been 'unofficial', because Anna had actually learnt something from the whole Great Freeze fiasco, and she had whispered to Kristoff that they should probably ask Elsa before making it official.

Which they had promptly done so, at three in the morning, because that was when he had asked her, following a wonderful and very romantic night out. Anna had snuck into Elsa's room, holding her breath, and whispered very gently into her sister's ear. And Elsa, half asleep and mostly disinterested in anything except remaining one with her pillow, had mumbled something that sounded more like 'get out of my room, it's three in the morning' than 'of course you can, what a fantastic idea', but Anna had taken it as a yes.

She had to remind Elsa of it at the breakfast the next morning, working it casually into the conversation by waiting until Elsa's mouth was full, thus giving her a chewing window to speak without Elsa interrupting (because no matter how dire the situation, the Queen of Arendelle did _not_ speak with her mouth full), and saying casually, "So, we were thinking the wedding should be in summer, because I want a dress without sleeves."

And Elsa had stopped chewing, clearly trying to figure out where this conversation had started.

"We're not entirely sure what we're meant to do about Kristoff's family, but that's something to figure out once the big details are sorted-"

"Anna, what are you talking about?" Damn, Anna's uninterrupted time was up.

"Kristoff and I are getting married," she said slowly, trying to make it sound incredibly obvious, like Elsa was the one being unreasonable. "I told you. You said yes."

"When?"

"I told you last night."

Elsa was thinking, trying to map out every moment of last night. "You went out, and I was working late. We didn't see each other last night."

"When I came home," Anna said cheerfully. "Remember? You were already in bed." Again, like it hadn't been three in the morning, and Elsa was really supposed to be able to keep up better than this.

"Was that what you were asking in the middle of the night?" Elsa could vaguely remember muttering at Anna to get lost.

"Yes."

"I don't think I said yes."

"Of course you did. Why wouldn't you?" Anna blinked innocently, a broad smile on her face.

Elsa contemplated the different places this conversation could go. If she said no, Anna was likely to sulk and rage for days. But she was nervous about saying yes. Not for any rational reasons, just because Anna was her little sister and she should thus spend the rest of her days being Elsa's little sister. Elsa didn't know Kristoff all that well, but what she had seen of him he was kind and honest, perhaps a little unrefined. Anna had done (much, much) worse.

Elsa sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine. You have my blessing to get married."

Anna started to leap across the table towards her sister.

"But," Elsa continued, and Anna froze in mid-air. "If at any point I think Kristoff is not 100% right for you, I will call it off."

Anna continued her trajectory and landed mostly on top of Elsa for a hug. "Thank you, thank you! And he's perfect, you'll see."

Elsa tentatively returned Anna's hug. At least one of them was happy.

Anna detached herself from Elsa, and sent a sunny smile in her direction. "Will you have dinner with us both? Tonight?"

Elsa thought for a moment, mentally running through her schedule. "Yes, I can manage that."

"Thank you!" Anna bounced back to her seat. "This is so exciting!"

Elsa had to smile at her sister's enthusiasm, but a part of her was saddened. Anna was growing up, getting married, replacing Elsa's presence with someone else. Anna had Kristoff. Who did Elsa have?

* * *

"It has to be in summer," Anna said later that evening, bickering with Elsa over dinner and a date for the wedding.

Kristoff remained silent, enjoying his meal and keeping tactfully out of the argument.

"It can't be around my birthday," Elsa argued back, "And afterwards it's heading into Autumn and everyone is harvesting crops. I can't shut down Arendelle after that, we'll starve in the winter."

"Then have it _before_ your birthday! If we start planning now, we can do it in the week before your birthday."

"Absolutely not."

"Why? We can just spend two weeks celebrating, and Kristoff and I will stay for your birthday, then have our honeymoon."

"They can't be back to back."

"Why not?"

"Because it's too much work!" Also, the mere thought of two weeks of non-stop people, social outings, being polite and having no privacy were mortifying, but Elsa couldn't say that out loud.

Unfortunately, Anna caught on. "Hey! Are you really going to postpone my wedding until spring because of your social anxiety?"

"I do _not_ have social anxiety; I just don't like people around all the time. There is no way this city can spend two weeks celebrating; everything would have to grind to a halt."

"Can't we just move your birthday?"

"Seriously?"

"Why is your birthday in the summer anyway, it makes no sense!"

"I had absolutely no control over that. Why not have the wedding immediately after my birthday?"

"Because then all the hype and excitement is wasted on you! I want it to be about me."

Elsa was starting to understand that. She sighed. "Okay, relax. Let's not worry about a date just yet, there's a lot else to plan."

Anna was clearly pouting. "You're going to make me wait until spring. Unless," she perked up, "There was no winter at all?"

"Absolutely not."

"Come on, it's not like we _need_ the winter. I'm sure if we just skipped it this year everything would be fine."

"Anna, we are not rearranging the natural world just so you can wear a sleeveless dress."

"Delay winter?"

"It doesn't work like that; I don't control the weather."

Kristoff was enjoying desert at this point; he wasn't sure if either sister had even started eating yet.

"What if we had the wedding, like, next month? Then you've got time to recharge your introvert batteries before your birthday."

"Arrgh!" Elsa pressed her fingers into her temples. "It's not about me! You want a minimum of a week of partying, which means Arendelle has to basically stop. Right when harvesting is about to start. Next month won't give me enough time to prepare everything."

"Then get so drunk at my party that you just cruise through yours without noticing the people," Anna begged. "Please don't make me wait until next year!"

"I'm not getting drunk at all."

"Sure you are."

Elsa raised one eyebrow in a look that she hoped would convey to Anna her disapproval. She attempted to steer the conversation back on course, "There has to be a gap between the two celebrations, and since mine was planned first-"

"You don't even _want_ a party! You'd be perfectly happy spending your birthday in bed with a book! Why not do that?"

"Arendelle expects a party; I don't have a choice in the matter. I'll keep the matter in mind tonight and see if any solution presents itself. Until I've had a chance to think about this, please don't nag me at every turn."

"I don't nag."

"You do. You fixate on something and then harass me until I do it. Now, keep your mouth shut about it until tomorrow, at the very least, and just eat your dinner." Elsa looked pleased with herself, having found a way to shut Anna up. She finally took a bite of her food, and frowned. "This food is cold."

Anna shot her a grumpy look. "How can you tell?"

* * *

Elsa was true to her word and spent the rest of the evening poring over her calendar and trying to figure out how to give Anna the elaborate, all-attention-on-me, everybody-stop-and-focus wedding that she wanted without jeopardising the whole Arendelle economy.

Eventually, Elsa had to admit defeat and accept the fact that both celebrations were going to have to be one after the other. She wasn't thrilled with the idea, but Anna was only going to get married once (Elsa hoped), and she deserved to have everything she wanted.

Elsa was pretty sure she was going to need a week after all the partying to recover, because having people around all the time was going to be taxing. And probably annoying. But Anna would love it, and that was the most important part.

The next morning Anna was uncharacteristically early at Elsa's study door, practically oozing anticipation. She bounced on her toes, unable to keep still, "We-ell?"

Elsa sighed. She had already been up for a few hours, getting most of her work out of the way early in order to start preparations. "We'll have to have them both back to back."

"Yes!" Anna nearly split Elsa's ear drums. "This is going to be the best party ever! Thank you!" She scooted away, no doubt to publicly announce her news, leaving Elsa wondering how she was supposed to get everything organized in roughly a month and a half.

Well, the sooner she got started, the sooner it would be finished. Elsa turned her full attention back to work, determining that she could get this done by lunch time, then sit Anna down and start discussing details. Anna was very much a 'big picture' person, while Elsa liked working out smaller pieces of things, so all she would need to do is dissect Anna's ridiculous ideas and make them plausible. How hard could that be?

* * *

"What on earth is that?" Elsa asked later in the day when Anna appeared in front of her armed with a piece of paper with something scribbled on it.

"This is what my dress has to look like!"

Elsa squinted, wondering if that would bring it into focus better, because at the moment it looked like a drawing of an exploding elephant. "Perhaps you should talk it over with someone who actually designs dresses. And can draw."

"You're a buzz kill."

Elsa lifted one shoulder in a disinterested shrug. "Perhaps. But that aside, where exactly did you want this to take place? You were so adamant about a summer wedding; I assume you'll be wanting it outside?"

"Yes, in the gardens," Anna said, studying her dress doodle. "In the afternoon."

"I'm sending all the overseas invitations out sometime in the next week, so make sure you've got everyone on your list who you want to attend."

"I'm making the list right now." Anna pointedly took a pen off Elsa's desk and started scribbling on the back of the hapless dress concept. "See?"

"Just tone it down a bit," Elsa cautioned. "We're not inviting the whole world."

"Oh, why not? It'll be fun."

"It'll be crowded."

"Stand in the corner."

"We're not having this argument again."

"When do we sort out the menu?" Anna asked, changing tracks and motoring off in a different direction. "When do we _sample_ the menu?"

"One thing at a time," Elsa said, and she had a suspicion she would be adopting that as her new mantra over the next few weeks. "Because the number of guests is going to influence the menu. Get the guest list sorted first, then-"

"Hey, do you have to do anything special, being Queen, or can you just be my maid of honour? How does this work? Also, would you be my maid of honour?"

"Of course, if there's nothing special that I have to do. I haven't looked it up yet; that's quite a bit further down the to-do list." Elsa glanced at one of the papers on her desk. "I was first-"

"You made a to-do list?" Anna sniggered. "How spontaneous of you."

"I like to have things organised," Elsa explained flatly. "This way, I know exactly what's going on."

"Okay, Queen Control Freak," Anna bounced up from her seat. "Here's most of the list, I've got to ask Kristoff something." She whirled out of the room before Elsa could protest.

Elsa carefully Anna's list to her pile of 'wedding' papers, and made a note that 'guest list' was in progress. She was checking through the rest of the list, making notes wherever it seemed necessary, when the sunlight outside was suddenly obscured and the whole room became dark.

Elsa briefly panicked, thinking she had done that and maybe she wasn't as calm as she thought she was, but the dark cloud covering the sun was clearly a raincloud, and thus not Elsa's fault. She went to the window, wondering where it had come from so suddenly.

She was frowning at it, when the cloud disappeared just as suddenly as it had arrived, and the sun started streaming over Arendelle again. Elsa studied the sky, looking for any indication of rain. There were none, and she shrugged the incident off as irrelevant and turned back to her list making.

**Thanks for reading; updates on this story will be a bit less frequent than my other two, because I do actually have a life outside of Frozen. I think. I know I put it somewhere . . . **

**SpicedGold**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Counting Down the Days

**Note to self: Do not watch Frozen and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic back to back. I have so much love and friendship stuffed in me right now that I feel like a six year old girl in a unicorn convention. Also, your horse does not appreciate being greeted by you yelling "Friendship is Magic and Love Thaws!" She will make Sven eyebrows at your idiocy.**

**But seriously, don't forget that Friendship is Magic.**

"More letters have arrived, your Majesty," a servant placed a neatly bound stack of closed letters on Elsa's desk.

She glanced up at him, making a mark on her list to keep her place. "Thank you. Anna, more replies. Anna?"

Elsa twisted in her chair to face the couch at the other side of her study. Anna was supposed to be on it writing the names of all the people who had replied to the wedding, but from here it looked like she was asleep, drooling onto the couch.

"Anna!" Elsa snapped. "Wake up!"

"It's too early to be awake," Anna mumbled.

"That's what you said when I woke you up. I need your help with this, and it's _your_ wedding. It's not going to magically organize itself." Elsa undid the latest piles of letters and started opening them. She groaned at the first one.

"What?" Anna levered herself upright, looking around for the pen she had been using, and wondering where on earth the ink had gone during her nap.

"Ugh, the Duke of Weselton is coming. I was hoping he would say no."

"Then why did you invite him?" Anna asked. "I didn't put him on the list."

"Because we are trade partners with Weselton," Elsa explained patiently, "It was the right thing to do."

"You're regretting it now," Anna grinned.

"You have no idea how much." Elsa put the letter on another pile on her desk, and opened the next one. She read it once, frowned, and read it again. "Anna? Do you know anything about this?"

"About what?" Anna yawned.

"This is from the Southern Isles," Elsa turned her chair around to look at her sister. Anna froze in the act of stretching, suddenly looking guilty. "We didn't invite the Southern Isles."

"Actually, about that, um," Anna wrung her hands together. "I sent the invitation."

"What on earth for?"

"I don't know . . . to rub it in their faces. I wanted them to know that I was getting married, and not to a sociopathic jerk."

"Oh, well, that makes perfect sense," Elsa said with a very false sense of calm, which evaporated when she read further, "Anna, they are _all_ coming! All _thirteen_ of them! What am I supposed to do with _thirteen obnoxious princes_?"

"You don't know if they are all obnoxious," Anna pointed out. "Some of them might be lovely."

Elsa's face didn't reflect Anna's optimism.

"Oh, you worry too much. It'll be fine. It'll be like your coronation all over again." Anna beamed.

"Because that's one night we all want to relive over and over again," Elsa covered her eyes with a hand, repeating quietly under breath, "Patience."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. It's your day; if you want to be smug about it and rub it in people's faces I'm not going to stop you. Just finish writing the guest list, because we need to find places for all these people to stay."

"Kristoff can always just stay with me in my room, and someone can use his – wow, its cold in here suddenly."

* * *

Two weeks. Elsa had two weeks left to finish planning this wedding. And while Anna was enthusiastic and helpful and willing, she was not meticulous, and Elsa was a micro-managing, perfectionist control freak who couldn't let go.

So she had not been sleeping well the past few weeks, but she was incredibly satisfied that everything was falling perfectly into place.

Except for the fact that thirteen princes of the Southern Isles were going to be staying in her castle. That alone was enough to make Elsa want to hide in her room until winter came, but she had promised Anna she wouldn't do that again.

It was one promise she regretted.

Elsa restacked her piles of paper on her desk, and put the more urgent ones on top, and wondering what time it was. Anna had been making a point of popping in at least once a day to check on her and make sure she'd eaten something, but Elsa knew Anna and Kristoff were going out tonight, which meant Elsa was liable to work right until morning.

It did look dark outside. Elsa looked at the clock on the other side of the room; it was almost midnight. A good time to go to bed, then.

She dragged herself to her room, her head swirling with everything that still needed to be done, and planned, and she knew she shouldn't be thinking about this now otherwise she wouldn't sleep at all. But it was all she could focus on, as she untied her hair and shook her braid loose for the night. She was about to fall into bed when thought she heard a voice, calling her name.

She frowned. It sounded very far away. Maybe it was her imagination. She looked out the window, but the only things moving outside were thick dark clouds, obscuring the moon.

_Strange_, she thought_. I'm just over tired, that's all._

She climbed into bed, ignoring another whisper of her name, even fainter than the first. She was just tired, she repeated to herself. No one was calling her name.

And no one was watching her.

* * *

"The sky's awake," Anna said softly, staring at the auroras.

Next to her, Kristoff mumbled something in a sleepy voice. The two of them had taken a spontaneous sleigh ride up the mountain to watch the sunset over Arendelle, and now it was late and Kristoff was drifting off to sleep.

The spot they had found was open and framed by wispy trees, offering a clear view of the city below them. Anna was sitting up, resting her weight on her hands, her eyes darting back and forth across the sky, half sprawled on the blanket they had brought up with them.

"We're getting married in two weeks."

Kristoff hummed an agreeable sound, his eyes closed.

"It's going to be perfect." Anna lay down, snuggling into his side. "People will start arriving soon."

"Hm."

"And Elsa's not even freaking out that much. I mean, she did kind of when she discovered I'd invited the Southern Isles, but other than that she's just been getting everything done. I've hardly had to do anything, just tell her what I want."

Anna's heart was bursting with love right now; Kristoff was wonderful and perfect and she loved him. Elsa had been nothing but supportive, and Anna was so grateful to her. She knew all this made Elsa a little uncomfortable, Elsa preferred being alone to being surrounded by masses of people, but the Queen had not complained once.

Anna made a mental note to thank Elsa tomorrow, and just let her know how much she appreciated it. "Hey, is that a rain cloud?"

Kristoff didn't make any acknowledging sounds this time.

"I've seen a few of them in the last few weeks. They're very dark. But it never rains, and they just blow over. Strange, isn't it?" Anna finally seemed to notice that the conversation was very one sided. She glanced at Kristoff. "Are you still awake?"

"Hm."

"Should we go home? You can't sleep up here, you know." Anna shook him gently by a shoulder. "Hey? Come on."

"I'm up," Kristoff muttered, but his body was not following his words and remained lying down with his eyes closed.

Anna kissed him softly. "Wakey, wakey."

He opened his eyes to look at her, a smile curling onto his face. "I'm awake."

"Let's go," Anna stood up, hands on her hips, trying to look strict. It didn't work.

Kristoff held out a hand. "Pull me up."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine." She grabbed his hand and pulled.

Kristoff pulled back, and Anna yelped as she overbalanced and landed on top of him. Kristoff's other arm wrapped around her waist, and he chuckled. "This is better than getting up."

"We still can't spend the night out here." Anna said.

"We'll go in a while." Kristoff closed his eyes again.

Anna snuggled into his chest, hiding a smile in the front of his shirt. His arms were warm and safe around her, and she could hear his heart beating. Everything, she thought, was perfect.

* * *

When the ships started coming in, just days before the wedding, Elsa needed a break. She told Kai to keep everyone away from her room for a few hours. Anna was happy to bounce around and greet everyone, and Elsa wasn't needed at the moment.

She just wanted some time to herself before the nightmarish week of constant social interaction began. So she closed herself in her room, breathing a sigh of relief when all the noise and bustle was drowned out by absolute silence.

Elsa sat on her bed, savouring the peace and quiet. She would go back downstairs soon, she promised herself. She just needed a minute to compose herself, and prepare. And enjoy the silence.

There was a strange, nagging feeling at the back of her head. She assumed it was stress. She was tuning it out, when it transformed into something less easy to ignore. Her name, whispered in the back of her skull, over and over again.

Elsa looked around her room, trying to pinpoint any rational explanation for the voice in her head. Or was this just her worrying, feeling slightly sick with anticipation?

"Elsa."

And _that_ wasn't inside her head at all. Elsa jumped to her feet, because she had seen a glimpse of something – she wasn't sure what – out of the corner of her eye. It looked like a wisp of cloud, only more defined, but when she turned to face it was no longer there.

"This side."

Elsa turned more slowly this time, feeling ice crackle at the tips of her fingers in nervousness.

The cloud morphed into a shape, gradually detailing itself into what looked like a hazy, largely translucent weasel-like creature. Elsa had never seen anything like it, but pressed for a description would probably say a weasel dragon, with a long, lithe body and wicked pointed teeth and a tail that flicked sharply.

"What . . . what are you?"

"Just a bit of magic," the cloud answered, and Elsa noticed that the voice was back inside her head, although the creature's jaws moved with every word. "Like you are."

Elsa wasn't sure if she should be afraid or not, so she kept a cautious distance between them, always ready to spew ice if it should attack.

"I won't attack," the creature said, startling her, and then Elsa felt her heart tighten as she realised it was inside her mind, reading her thoughts.

She froze, unsure of what to do.

"You don't need to do anything," the cloud drifted languidly around the room, and Elsa turned with it, watching it. "I just wanted you to know I was here. And ask if, perhaps, you wanted to give your magic to me?"

"My . . . what?" Elsa was struggling to keep up, mostly because she was still trying to fathom a talking dragon cloud in her room and reading her mind.

"I'm magic," it swirled in a circle, swishing in and out of focus, clearly intangible but right in front of her. "That's all I am. And I'd like your magic, to add to myself. That's all."

"You're magic." It wasn't a question. Elsa was just trying to get all her ducks in a row.

"Yes. And I need, and want, more magic. You've got lots of magic inside you; I can feel it and see it. I can be part of it." This was true; Elsa could feel it, twisting ghostly shapes inside her head and brushing along her consciousness.

All the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, she could feel her skin prickling all over.

"It's a lot to take in," the cloud glided past her, and its smoky body was cool were it brushed her skin. "You need time to think. I'll make you a deal." Its sinewy body, both misty and solid, slid along her back. "Take a few days to think. Decide if you want to give me your magic. It doesn't even have to be all of it; I just need enough to stay alive. But giving magic away can be tricky, and I need you to be fully committed to it."

Its voice was still inside her head, slithering around Elsa's consciousness, echoing and heavy at the same time.

"Ask me anything you want, to help you decide. I'll never lie to you." And those words sent a chill down her spine, reverberating in her back and heart. "But think how much better life would be, without fear. Without worrying about hurting people." And the last sentence licked the very core of her soul. "No longer being a monster."

Then it was gone, leaving Elsa standing stock still in there centre of her room, eyes fixed on nothing, heart still pounding in her chest, and her breathing erratic. Her head was clear again, there was no one else inside with her, worming their way through her thoughts.

She stayed where she was for ages, trying to comprehend what had just happened, because it had come out of nowhere, with no warning and no explanation. And bizarrely, the first thing she thought was _now is not a good time for this, not so close to the wedding._

Then she felt slightly faint, like someone had pulled the energy from her, and she stumbled to her bed, sitting down and covering her face with both hands. Everything was as it should be, nothing was out of place. The world was perfectly normal again.

Elsa's hands were shaking, she realised. She let them fall to the bed, anchoring herself to the blanket and to the present, to _right now_, to reassure herself that nothing was wrong. Nothing was wrong. Nothing was wrong. If she repeated it enough, perhaps she would start to believe it.

But she knew better than anyone that that didn't always work.

The sun was shining again, and there was not a cloud to be seen.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Thirteen Princes

**Anyone wondering what Kagami looks like, think sort of Haku from **_**Spirited Away**_** meets a lizard. If I have time I might draw him, but work is trying hard to take over my life.**

**I wrote this in a hurry, so sorry for any mistakes.**

Elsa seemed very distracted, Anna noticed at dinner that evening. There were a lot of guests already, and the dining room was filled with loud talking and laughing. Except from Elsa, sitting at the head of the table, staring fixedly at the wood and looking as though her mind was somewhere else entirely.

Anna leaned over, sitting to Elsa's right, and whispered. "You okay?"

"What?" Elsa looked up, and blinked, seemingly surprised at being where she was.

"You seem a little preoccupied," Anna said a low voice, keeping the conversation between the two of them. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." Elsa resumed staring at the table, as though it would explain some silent mystery Anna was unaware of. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I'm just . . . I've got a lot of planning to do, still. That's all."

"If you need help . . ." Anna began.

"Thank you. I'll let you know. But for now, I've got it under control."

Anna was tactful enough not to mention the fact that Elsa's fork was slowly freezing in her hand, but she certainly noticed it, and filed it away under 'strange Elsa behaviour in the last few days'. See, she could make lists too.

Elsa was tuning out all conversation around her. She was still trying to fathom the day so far, because while she had been semi-prepared for having people around constantly, she had not been prepared for inexplicable clouds of magic infiltrating her head. And the thought itself was so obscure, she was wondering if it had even happened, or if she had just fallen asleep and not noticed, and it had been a stress-induced dream.

But while she quite liked that explanation, it seemed the least plausible because every time she thought about magic, she could feel it whisper against the back of her head. It was clearly real, and it was clearly inside her.

She needed to know more, because Elsa hated things she couldn't explain. "Excuse me," she mumbled, standing up suddenly.

"Wait, where are you going?" Anna asked. "You haven't even eaten yet."

"There's something I have to do," Elsa said vaguely. She looked like she wanted to add something, but just shook her head slightly, and hurried away.

Anna added it to her list.

* * *

Elsa went back to her room, because there she could lock the door and feel relatively safe. She leaned against the door, and the familiarity of that action was soothing and comforting. This was something she knew, and could handle.

For a moment, she wasn't sure what to do. How do you call a magic cloud? Did a magic cloud even exist, or was Elsa on the brink of losing it completely?

"Where are you?" she asked softly, into the empty room, for lack of any better options.

It seemed like she had made a good choice, because a shape started forming in front of her, long twisting tendrils of black and dark purple smoke that eventually morphed into the long, snake-like weasel from earlier. It was still translucent and barely there, but Elsa felt it slither into her mind again.

She didn't know what to say next. Did she even need to say anything at all? Silence hung in the room, while Elsa got to grips with the fact that, yes, this was very real. She was not hallucinating.

The magic cloud hovered, oozing patience, occasionally looking more solid, but then fading away to a vague impression.

"What are you?" Elsa asked, wanting to get everything explained and figure out what the hell was going on.

"I am magic," the cloud replied, its voice once again sounding inside her head.

"You must have been something, first. Magic doesn't . . . magic doesn't take a shape."

"Magic can be anything it wants. But I was like you once, a magic wielder. Long ago."

"How long?"

"A few hundred years. I still have my original power." Its voice was like glass, fragile and hard to pinpoint, but unequivocally there. "I collected more and more magic, until it became who I was."

Okay, Elsa was following so far. Not quite believing it, but certainly following. She asked tentatively, "Why are you here?"

"I need more magic. I want more magic. And there's so much of it in you."

"So . . . you just want a bit of my magic?" This seemed a remarkably normal request considering what was happening. "That's all?"

"I'm a very simple creature." The cloud was whisked away, then reformed to Elsa's left. "What else do you need to know?"

The whole situation was so surreal that Elsa was struggling to comprehend it. She hesitated, wondering what she needed to ask. Was this safe? Would her powers be affected by it? Why was this creature here in the first place? What was is capable of doing? Why was it after her magic?

All those questions swirled around her head in a jumbled mess of disjointed thoughts, which it turned out was not a problem. Elsa felt the creature slide around her head, purring gently into her thoughts and sorting them out. It answered each question, in a silky, echoing voice.

"Of course it's safe. If I killed you, all your power would be gone. Then what would I do if I needed more? I have to leave some of it behind, so you won't lose it all. All I want is more magic to sustain myself; it's what I need to stay alive. And I can do whatever I want, because I take the properties of whatever magic I consumed. I'm after your magic because you called me here. You unleashed such a massive amount of power that I was drawn to you."

It was a little disconcerting having her silent questions answered, so Elsa remained still, partially hoping it would just leave her alone. But it didn't, as long as she stood still, it was swimming gently around her head, sweeping her thoughts this way and that, preventing her from keeping any sort of focus.

"Perhaps a name would make you feel better?" it sighed into her thoughts. "People like naming things; they think it makes them easier to understand. I am Kagami."

"Leave me alone." Finally, she was able to get a sentence out, although it was halting and timid.

"I can't. You are magic, and I am magic. We are one being, and you can't get rid of yourself. But if you let me take some of your magic, I'll move on."

"And never come back?"

"Most likely. There is more magic elsewhere, and I can always go there, once I have what I need from you. But don't make any rash decisions," Kagami purred. "Make sure this is really what you want. Because magic can't be transferred unless you really want it to. There is no hurry. I'm content to wait."

With that, Elsa could feel it fading away, slipping out of her mind. It spoke once more, far away and barely audible.

"I'll be wherever you need me to be."

Then Elsa felt completely alone, and drained of all energy. She remained leaning against the door, her thoughts still in a jumble. Why now? Why did this have to happen now, when Anna needed her full attention, and Elsa couldn't be distracted by abstract entities trying to suck her powers out?

"Breathe," she told herself firmly. "You can handle this."

Kagami did not seem threatening, but its presence was disconcerting and frigid. And Elsa knew well, that where magic was concerned, things were not always as they seemed.

She nearly had a heart attack when someone rapped on the door.

"Elsa?" Anna could be clearly heard outside. "Are you in there?"

Elsa swallowed. She knew she should say yes, and it should be an automatic response. But old habits die hard, and she said nothing, and remained perfectly still.

"Please? I want to talk to you. Come out."

Elsa squeezed her eyes shut, as though she could block everything else out. But even when the world looked black, Anna could still be heard.

"Okay. I'm going to my room." She sounded small and defeated, because having Elsa not answer the door was one of the few things Anna couldn't brush off. "Good night."

Elsa waited until she was sure Anna had gone before she slid down the door and landed with a thump on her behind, weary and worried and rather confused. A little puddle of guilt sat in her stomach, adding to the worry and the stress.

What was she going to do?

* * *

Elsa had a restless night. Her dreams were filled with images of purples dragons and snakes and clouds that penetrated her brain and pulled out her thoughts and secrets for everyone to see. When she opened her eyes, the room was coated in uneasy frost, and the sky outside was still dark with night.

Elsa rolled onto her back, staring blankly upwards. She needed to sleep, she was bone tired and she had a long day ahead of her. All those people, and talking, and pretending everything was alright. And thirteen princes from the Southern Isles, Elsa groaned softly. What had she done to deserve that? Was she being punished for something?

Was this repentance for freezing Arendelle almost two years ago?

"I'm sorry," she mumbled to whatever deity was keeping score, in case that helped ease her suffering. She watched the snowflakes suspended in the air, held there by the tension in her sleep. They turned gently, back and forth. Watching them was soothing, and Elsa's eyes grew heavy again.

She went back to sleep, with frosty snowflakes drifting through her mind.

* * *

The morning was noisy. There was the sound of ships blaring horns as they entered the harbour, and the castle itself was murmuring.

That didn't make sense to Elsa, until she remembered that it was full of people, and they were the ones nattering away at whatever hour it was and disturbing her peace. Elsa peeked at the clock in her room, which was still partially obscured by ice.

It could be read, and clearly stated it was five in the morning.

Elsa sat up slowly. She could still lie in, if she wanted, but there was too much noise and she was unsettled anyway. It wouldn't be particularly restful, so she might as well accomplish something with her extra time.

Elsa took her time getting dressed and ready for the day; part of her wondered if it was because all the princes from the Southern Isles were arriving today (_Thirteen_, her brain reminded her) and she was subconsciously doing what Anna wanted – rubbing it in their faces.

Ha! Look at me now, Hans! I'm not running away and freezing things, I'm the freakin' Queen of Arendelle with ice powers and _look at my dress_.

But no, she wasn't like that. She didn't rub things in people's faces.

Although it was very tempting, because as Elsa glided downstairs to begin the day (a day full of people, ugh) she knew heads were turning. Everyone in Arendelle might have had their gobsmacked awe diluted by Elsa's constant presence, but the visiting countries had not, and jaws were dropping frequently.

There was no denying that Elsa was gorgeous, with her flawless pastel skin and perfect hair and that ridiculous ice dress, and she had to admit she did feel rather smug. The last time she had seen Hans she had been at her lowest point: complete despair and panic. She had a new self-confidence now, and she was going to flaunt it.

Starting tomorrow, she decided, as she entered the dining hall for breakfast and found it packed with people. She recognised most of them, and it was a relief to know that her entire world hadn't been replaced with strangers, but she was still uneasy about this whole thing. And she couldn't rely on Anna to be around during breakfast; she was probably still fast asleep.

"Good morning, your majesty," Kai greeted.

Elsa immediately latched onto his personal space. "Why are there so many people around at this hour?"

"Most of them have things to do today, and they're just eating before they start." His tone of voice implied that Elsa should know that, and she was a little close for comfort and absolutely freezing. He moved surreptitiously away from her, trying to maintain dignity in the presence of an artic Queen.

This was too much to handle, and Elsa needed something normal and familiar. To Kai's chagrin, she edged a bit closer to him, staying nearby.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked, hoping to be sent on an errand that would remove him from his own personal Antarctica.

"No, I'm fine." Elsa said distractedly. "Is Anna awake yet?"

"I highly doubt it, but I would be quite happy to go and wake her for you."

"No, that's okay," Elsa said, and she missed it when Kai sighed in resignation. "Let her sleep."

He was starting to shiver, and Elsa was still oblivious to it. "Excuse me, your Majesty, but I have things to do." He scurried away.

Elsa ended up going outside, where there were less people, wandering through the gardens and admiring the decorations that had been put up so far. Anna wanted nothing short of perfect for her wedding, and the gardens were looking amazing. Elsa had even been relieved to find that Anna's dress no longer looked like an exploding elephant; she made a mental note to do something special for whatever poor dress maker had managed to satisfy Anna based solely on a scribble.

She was smiling at her thoughts, running her fingers lightly over the white roses tied around almost every available surface when she heard Anna calling her name. She looked up, and saw her sister hanging precariously out of an upstairs window, grinning and waving with her red hair only half tamed for the day. "Morning, Elsa!"

"Good morning," Elsa returned, her smile widening.

"I can see the ship from the Southern Isles!"

Anna's shout made Elsa's smile vanish.

"I'm almost ready, then we can go show off to them. Stay where you are!" Anna heaved herself back into the window, much to Elsa's relief. A concussed princess wouldn't make for a very pleasant wedding.

Elsa waited obediently, until Anna came barrelling outside, looking much better groomed. Elsa felt a little bit of tension leave her, because everything was easier to face with Anna at her side. "You're welcoming them all."

"Why me? You're the Queen." Anna rolled her eyes.

"You invited them," Elsa countered. "It was your crazy idea. I already had to put up the Duke of Weselton eying me like I was going to eat him."

"You'd have food poisoning," Anna joked. They giggled together, and went outside to the harbour.

"Look at the sun," Anna sighed, as they stood side and side and waited patiently for the ship to dock. "It's been amazing weather all week."

"Are you going to be able to remember all the prince's names?" Elsa asked, giving Anna a look that indicated she seriously doubted it.

"Are _you_?" Anna challenged. "Can't we just assign them numbers, or something?"

Elsa snorted. "Anna!"

"You're laughing, so it can't be _that_ terrible an idea," Anna grinned.

"Anna, try to behave yourself." Elsa straightened suddenly. "Look, here comes One!"

"And Two and Three and Four," Anna chuckled.

They sniggered together, very un-royally, and Anna couldn't help the grin plastered to her face. Everything was perfect, and she was so happy. Elsa was still smiling, and even though Anna could see lines of tense muscle in her shoulders she looked content and peaceful.

Everything was going according to plan, the sun was shining, Elsa was pleased, Anna was ecstatic and she couldn't wait to show off her fiancé to everyone from the Southern Isles. As soon as she found out where Kristoff was hiding.

* * *

"You've got to go out eventually," Sven 'said', with his eyebrows raised giving Kristoff a disapproving look.

"I know," Kristoff replied, peering cautiously out of the stables. "But Elsa said I wasn't allowed to cause any trouble, and I get the feeling I would have punched Hans in the face if I'd seen him."

"Let's do it!" Sven enthused.

"You're a terrible influence," Kristoff said. He rubbed the reindeer affectionately. "But I suppose I better get going. Anna wants to strut me around like some sort of prize. Wouldn't want to disappoint her."

Kristoff left his reindeer, resigning himself to being paraded around. He supposed it could be worse; he just wasn't sure _how_, at the moment. Anna's elaborate schedule of excessive partying including what she described as 'everyone just hanging out and eating chocolate' for the afternoon. When Kristoff had questioned this to Elsa, she had explained that it was like a ball, but without any dancing.

Sven had been disappointed that he wasn't a part of the party, but when Kristoff had wondered idly whether or not the reindeer could join in, in the pristine ballroom with its very expensive furnishings, Elsa looked like she might have an aneurysm right there and then.

So, Kristoff had to face the day without his best friend, but he still had his over enthusiastic fiancé and her frosty sister, so he guessed things weren't too bad. Until he took an innocent step into the castle's courtyard and Anna collared him and shouted proudly, "This is Kristoff, and he _really_ loves me!"

This was clearly for the benefit of – Kristoff counted quickly – _thirteen_ men who were standing in a group, with one familiar face amongst them.

_Don't punch anyone_, Kristoff reminded himself.

Anna whispered in his ear, "Those are the princes of the Southern Isles."

"I figured," he whispered back.

"Elsa and I are referring to them by number."

"Isn't that really rude and disrespectful?"

"So is trying to murder someone and pretending to love someone else," Anna hissed back.

Kristoff shrugged. Fair enough, he supposed. "Shouldn't you be rescuing your sister?"

"Why?"

Elsa was still surrounded by princes, and while she looked outwardly calm, Anna could see the tension in her shoulders and the occasional snowflake falling from her clasped hands.

"Yeah, maybe," Anna darted to Elsa's side. "Hey, Elsa? I need you to sort something out for me. Come with me?"

Elsa gave Anna a grateful smile, and willingly followed, leaving the princes to the porters that had assembled on the docks. Anna led her into the castle, and upstairs. "Where are we going?"

"No idea," Anna replied cheerfully. "But you looked like you needed a break. By the way, have you had breakfast yet?"

"No, I was just-"

Anna tutted. "Elsa, you can't just skip meals because you're busy. I'm gonna get us something. Just the two of us." Anna deposited Elsa by the library door. "Don't open the door for anyone but me. I'll be right back."

Elsa was going to protest, but Anna was already running away. Elsa didn't have much choice, so she went inside the library, smiling fondly at Anna's behaviour.

Anna retuned after a moment. "I brought pudding!"

"I thought you were getting breakfast?"

"Yes, pudding for breakfast. It's supposed to be for tonight but it looked so good." Anna was still nattering away, but Elsa felt a decision forming in her stomach.

Anna needed her full focus and attention. Elsa couldn't have anything else getting in the way of making Ann's life perfect right now. Kagami would have to go. She resolved to tell him- it- him to leave the next time she was alone.

Because Anna was the only thing Elsa wanted to focus on right now, and she would do anything to see her sister safe and happy.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Kagami's Deal

Elsa locked the door to her room, and all the activity outside seemed much less insurmountable when she couldn't see it. The day had been a humdrum of people arriving, being introduced, trying to stop Kristoff from assaulting anyone and toning down Anna's enthusiasm. Elsa was exhausted and tired, and couldn't handle anything more. She had managed to steal away for a while, but soon they would start preparing for the banquet and Anna would want to know where she was.

She ran her hands through her hair, something she often did when overwhelmed, and let out a pent up breath. There was only so much she could take, and this was clearly the end of her tether.

"Kagami?" she said quietly, and a little hesitantly. She was nervous, but she didn't know why.

The purple cloud swirled around her, slowly taking shape, then settled near the floor, the empty-eyed face of the magic looking expectant. Elsa felt it push at her mind, her whole body shuddered for a second, then she could hear it speaking. "Have you decided yet?"

Seeing as it could read her mind, Elsa wasn't sure why it bothered to ask. She touched the back of her head lightly, because she could feel it there so strongly it was hard to believe that there was nothing tangible to touch. "Um . . . yes. I can't give you my magic."

She had too much to deal with right now, and something had to go. She would have preferred to get rid of thirteen obnoxious princes, but getting rid of Kagami seemed like the best plan because its presence was causing sleepless nights and a loss of focus. Everything had to be about Anna right now, and if Elsa could eliminate one more distraction she would rest easier.

"I want you to leave. Go somewhere else." She wished her voice wasn't trembling.

She felt the cloud stop, staying unnervingly still for a moment, then it resumed its usual, gentle waving and weaving, and constantly changing shape.

"I don't want to make any deals with you."

The cloud stilled again, for a few seconds, and Elsa felt her heart beat increasing.

"That's unfortunate," the voice said smoothly. "It's so much easier to take magic willingly. I don't want to drag it out of you."

Elsa felt a flicker of fear. "You said you couldn't take it unless I said it was okay."

"That's true. But there's a brief moment when you use your magic that's available to me. It just needs to be properly prepared." The voice was silky smooth again, gliding like water.

"How . . . how would you do that?"

"It's easy enough. Your powers run off your feelings. A strong enough feeling will create a strong enough blast of magic for me to harvest. You are easy to take magic from, because you can be manipulated."

"No, I can't." Elsa said firmly. "I don't want anything to do with you. Get out of my head, and go away."

"Here's how this is going to work." The cloud took on a solid shape, the long weasel-like creature looking very real and very much there, able to be touched and heard. The voice left Elsa's head, and came only from the creature itself. "This is my true form. I can only use my magic in this solid form. And your magic can only affect me in this form."

Elsa waited, unsure of where Kagami was going with this.

"And in this form, normal people can see me. And I can touch them, and hurt them."

That made the flicker of fear blossom into something bigger, a slight pounding in time with Elsa's accelerating heartbeat.

"You will cancel this wedding."

"What?" Elsa asked, because that was the absolute last thing she was planning. "No."

"Cancel the wedding, or I'll kill your sister." Kagami spoke matter-of-factly, as though this was a perfectly normal conversation to be having.

"You can't do that!" Elsa snapped, protectiveness flaring inside her.

"This is how this is going to work. If you tell _anyone_ about me, I'll start killing people. One by one. And you won't know who I'm going after. It could be a person in the street. It could be that nice ice harvester Anna hangs out with. It could be anyone visiting from overseas. You _will_ cancel the wedding, and you won't tell Anna why. Because if you do, I'll kill her. And I'm not playing around here, it'll be easy. I've got the magic of hundreds of people inside me."

Elsa was staring at Kagami, unable to say anything, or move, because the world around her was about to shatter. "What? Why?"

"You won't be able to do anything about your feelings; they'll be completely out of control. And then, when you're so desperate to get rid of them, when you are broken and afraid and dying of misery, I'll take what I need from you, and leave you. But if you try to tell anyone about this, I will kill Anna. Slowly. In front of you."

Then Kagami turned back into an elusive cloud, and crawled back into Elsa's mind, which had ground to a halt. He purred into her thoughts, "Just think how much easier this would have been if you had only said yes. Now you're going to destroy your sister's world, and I'll tear yours apart. And remember, if you tell anyone about me, I'll know. Because I'm here in your mind, and the only way you can get rid of me is to do what I say."

Then he was gone, flashing out of Elsa's mind with such suddenness that she was left reeling, dizzyingly confused and afraid.

And with one thought pounding in her mind: what did she do now?

* * *

Elsa paced back and forth, and with each pass across her room she was leaving an agitated trail of ice on the floor. Kagami wasn't serious. It could be serious.

It had to be bluffing.

_Are you going to take that chance, with your sister's life?_ Elsa asked herself. _Of course not. But there's no proof that Kagami can harm anyone. No one can even see it, him, it. You can't cancel the wedding, it's in three days._

_If you don't cancel it, Kagami will kill Anna._

_No it won't._

Elsa finally stopped moving, wishing she knew more about the magic cloud and what it was capable of. "What the hell can you even do?" She had barely whispered, but she felt the cloud starting to form around her, summoned by her thoughts.

"You doubt my power?" Kagami purred, it's cool presence brushing against Elsa's skin, from the inside and the outside.

"You can't hurt anyone," Elsa stated, looking around the room, because Kagami was not solid and she couldn't see where it was.

The cloud reappeared, and formed its solid, lithe shape, fixing Elsa with a hollow-eyed glare.

"You said my powers can hurt you in this form," Elsa said.

"I did. And they can." The instant Kagami had stopped speaking Elsa had shot a pointed icicle across the room, fully intended to impale the creature and be done with it forever. The point of the ice just barely touched Kagami, before it vanished into a silky cloud once again, and reformed to Elsa's left.

She jumped back, startled, and felt the anger of the creature in her mind, white hot rage steaming inside her skull.

"One of my powers is the ability to mirror," Kagami said, it's whole presence shaking with wrath. "Now that your magic has touched me, I can mirror what you used. Just like this." In a flash, Kagami had left Elsa's mind and solidified in front of her, sending the exact same icicle towards her.

The sharp tip came dangerously close, Elsa stumbled back a step instinctively. She looked around, but Kagami had vanished again, and then she felt it crawling into her mind.

"Now, let's go over that deal once again," it purred. "Cancel the wedding, and do not tell anyone why. If you tell anyone about me, I'll start killing people at random, and without discretion. If you tell your sister why you are cancelling the wedding, I'll kill her. It'll be so easy now . . ."

Elsa started when a vision appeared in her mind, against her will, of Anna standing in front of her, looking rooted to the spot in terror.

"I can even use your magic."

Then Elsa saw her icicle, lethally sharp, jut from the floor and spear right through Anna's heart. The vision was there for only a second, then flashed away, leaving behind only a sense of utter fear.

"Wouldn't that be a treat? Watching me kill your sister with your own powers? I'm a simple and patient creature, Elsa, and I can wait. You only need to cancel this wedding within the next day or so. Take all the time you need to figure out how to do it."

Elsa didn't know what to say, or to think. She gulped, trying to quell the onset of a massive panic attack. Kagami slipped from her mind, and everything went back to normal.

Except for the maniacal magic cloud threatening to murder her sister if Elsa didn't break her heart first.

* * *

Anna couldn't help but notice that her sister was utterly silent for the rest of the day. There was supposed to be a huge banquet later, but so far Elsa had done nothing but sit on her throne ignoring the activity around her and nibbling on the tip of her thumb.

There were a lot of people around, putting up decorations, or just milling around the castle, but Elsa hadn't taken notice of anyone.

Anna excused herself from the group of people she had been talking to, and quietly approached Elsa. She shivered as she approached, because the air around her sister was freezing. "Elsa?"

Elsa was staring blankly into space, she hadn't moved for hours.

"Elsa?" Anna spoke a little bit louder, and that seemed to startle Elsa back to reality.

She blinked, bolting upright, and looking around as though something was chasing her. "Wh . . . oh, Anna."

"You okay?" Anna asked, even though the answer to her question was obvious. "You look a little . . . tense."

"Just thinking." Elsa settled back into her catatonic position of staring into space.

"What's on your mind?"

Elsa closed her eyes for a moment, obviously thinking hard. Her eyes opened again, and she spoke hesitantly. "Can . . . can we talk?"

"Of course." Anna shrugged. "We can talk any time."

"Somewhere else." Elsa stood up, looking nervously around.

Anna sensed that this was serious. "Uh . . . how about the library? No one will bother us in there."

Elsa just nodded and started walking mechanically away. Anna trailed behind her, chattering away in the hope of dispelling some of the tension. "So, everything's going pretty smoothly for the banquet. By the way, I spoke to Eight, and apparently he asked you out a few times. You never said anything about that."

Elsa certainly wasn't saying anything about it now.

"He's actually kinda nice. Surprisingly. And have you spoken to our cousin? She's awesome, by the way, we should really see each other more often." Anna smiled to herself. "Kristoff likes her too, so that's great."

The library was the one room completely devoid of people. Anna closed the door, sensing Elsa wanted privacy, and waited expectantly. She was watching Elsa closely, though, adding things to her 'odd behaviour' list.

Elsa could not stand still. She was still pacing, hands always moving. She looked at Anna, at the bright hopefulness on her face, and her expression fell slightly.

"Are you _sure_ you're alright?" Anna asked.

Elsa shook her head.

"You can tell me anything, you know."

_No, no I can't._ Elsa forced herself to stop moving. "Anna. About the wedding."

At the word 'wedding' Anna's face lit up with pure happiness.

Elsa had to take a moment to calm down, because the sight of Anna's delight nearly broke her heart in two. "Well . . ."

"I know it's been hard for you." Anna said. "But it's all I've ever wanted. Thank you. Thank you so much." Anna moved forward, capturing Elsa in a warm embrace before Elsa could get away. "I'm so happy right now."

Anna didn't let go, because she could feel Elsa's heart hammering and thought maybe she just needed a little bit of comfort. Nothing could be so bad that a bit of love couldn't fix it, right? "Now, what did you want to talk about?"

Elsa didn't have the words. She didn't know how to begin. She turned her head so her face was hidden in Anna's neck, gripped her even tighter. She hoped Anna could feel her absolutely desperate love, because what she was going to say next was going to ruin everything. "Anna . . ."

"Yep?"

"I love you."

"I know. Love you too. Everything's going to be fine, I'm not going anywhere. You can relax."

_No, I can't_. Elsa swallowed hard, choking down tears. _Stay calm, stay focused_. "The wedding . . ." how was she supposed to say this? How could _anyone_ say this?

"Is going to be fine," Anna assured her. "I know you're stressed, but it's all fine. I'm here. For as long as you need me to be." Anna rubbed a hand sympathetically up and down Elsa's back. "What else did you want to talk about?"

Elsa didn't let her grip on Anna slacken. "It can wait." She could feel Anna smiling, sheer delight spreading throughout her entire body, and Elsa wanted to just break down and cry because Anna had no idea what was going on.

Finally, Anna let go, and took a step back. "I'll take care of everything tonight. You've been working too hard and stressing yourself out. Take some time for yourself, okay?"

Elsa nodded, because if she tried to speak she knew her voice would shake.

"I'll see you at dinner. And don't worry," Anna grinned. "Everything will be alright in the end."

Elsa wished she could believe her.

When Anna left, Elsa sank onto the couch in the library, feeling emotionally drained. She needed to rest, but whenever she did there were clouds and demons in her dreams. She slumped, resting her face in both hands, and didn't move even when she felt the familiar sensation of Kagami sliding into her mind.

"That wasn't what I was expecting," he purred. "Time's running out for her, Elsa."

_Go away._

"You know I'm not leaving. Why would I want to, anyway? Watching you suffer is so satisfying. Just think how much easier this would have been if you had just cooperated with me in the first place. You did all this to yourself."

Elsa shook her head, and she didn't know if she was disagreeing or trying to shake Kagami away.

"Better tell her tonight," Kagami whispered. "Or who knows what will happen?"

He slipped away, but left in his wake an unmistakable feeling of dread.

Elsa's hands moved from her face into her hair, then she let out a heavy breath and sat up a little straighter. She needed to compose herself, because it wouldn't do to appear in front of all the guests in a state of near hysteria. And she couldn't just barrel out of the room and start yelling at Anna in a panic, because this situation required delicacy and not a small amount of control.

Anna was going to flip.

Elsa stood up again, because her nervousness made it impossible to stay still for long. The wedding was in _three days_, Elsa reminded herself. Everyone was here. All the preparations were going smoothly, without a hitch. Anna had been bragging to all thirteen Southern Isles princes all day.

Would waiting make it worse? Elsa didn't know if she should follow Anna right now, or wait until later. The waiting was agonizing, but the mere thought of having to tell Anna 'you can't marry Kristoff' made her stomach turn in knots.

"How am I supposed to say this?" she murmured. She stared out the window, but there were no answers in the sky.

She swallowed hard. If she waited any longer she was going to lose her nerve, and Kagami was going to hurt Anna.

"I can't do this," she whispered to herself. But she had to, if she didn't she was going to lose her sister. She took several deep breaths, in a futile attempt to calm herself, then turned towards the door of the library.

The castle was bubbling with voices. Elsa clasped her hands together and went to Anna's room first, hoping she was there and they could have this conversation in private. But the universe was against her, and Anna's room was empty. That told Elsa she was going to have to cause a scene, again, about her sister getting married.

She couldn't believe this was happening twice.

Anna was in the dining hall, mingling and chatting and looking absolutely radiant. Elsa had paused in the door way, to take a moment to just look at her and study her. Anna's hair was loose, cascading down her back, and she looked incredible in a silky black and green dress. She looked so happy.

Elsa could feel her ice pushing inside her, her stress making it almost unbearable. She wanted to let it out, but she couldn't. She tamped it down, and approached Anna.

Anna could feel her coming, and turned around when Elsa was still a few metres away, because it was suddenly very, very cold around her. Her happiness immediately morphed into concern, "Whoa, Elsa, it's a bit chilly here. Are you okay?"

A slight, involuntary shaking of the head, hands locked together.

"What is it?"

_Think carefully before speaking. Explain it in a way that sounds reasonable. Remain calm_. Elsa swallowed hard; she could feel her whole body shaking. She managed a whisper, "Anna, you can't get married."

Anna frowned, clearly not expecting that and assuming it was a mistake. "Uh . . . what was that? I think I misheard you." The icy air around them was clearly telling Anna something was wrong, but she didn't know what it was.

Elsa tried again, only just keeping her voice from cracking. "You can't get married."

There was a long, tense silence, while Anna frowned and stewed over what Elsa was saying. She assumed Elsa meant something completely different, because what it sounded like - 'you can't get married' - didn't make sense. She let out a breath, a sound like a disbelieving laugh, because it was ludicrous. Elsa wasn't making sense.

But Elsa was staring into Anna's eyes, holding her still with her gaze, and there was not a trace of mirth in her expression.

Anna found her voice. "What?"

"I'm calling off the wedding," Elsa could hear the tremor in her voice, she could feel the prick of tears in her eyes and she knew it was freezing cold around them because Anna's short, incredulous breaths were visible. "You are not getting married."

_This is a dream_, Anna thought. This is a nightmare. This cannot be real. Because Elsa would never, ever say this, right? Elsa wouldn't let Anna get this close to her dream, then yank it out from under her and leave Anna shell-shocked. Elsa wouldn't break Anna's heart twice. "I don't understand," Anna stammered. "What are you saying?"

Saying it once had been hard. Saying it twice hurt. Saying it a third time had cleaved Elsa's heart in two. Saying it again? This had to be the last, because every time she spoke it felt like she was jamming a pick axe into Anna's chest. Elsa could see the hurt in her eyes, the disbelief, the fear that said 'this isn't happening. This _can't_ be happening'. Elsa couldn't do this again.

"Anna, you're not getting married." Her voice was quiet, but strong. She had to be rational. She couldn't give in to any emotion right now. "Not to Kristoff."

The cold air had attracted quite a bit of attention from the rest of the room's occupants, and a hush had descended over the room.

"I'm cancelling the ceremony. You can't change my mind." And that hurt Elsa more than it hurt Anna, because Elsa was saying 'your feelings don't matter to me.'

Anna was shaking her head, slowly, her eyes still locked onto Elsa's. The silence in the room only made Anna's rapidly beating heart seem louder to her, she felt like she'd just had a bucket of cold water dumped on her. She was hyper aware, she knew she was breathing hard, her heart was beating faster. She was searching Elsa's face for any sign of remorse, but there was none, and her words cut like a knife.

Anna's world was narrowing, there was an almost overwhelming sense of falling, of everything rushing away at the shock of Elsa's words. She swallowed hard, choking back tears, and her voice wavered. "Why?"

Elsa had been hoping she wouldn't ask. Because any reason she gave would be flimsy and unimportant. She clenched her jaw, clenched her fists, felt her bottom lip shaking.

Anna's calmness erupted into anger, and she shouted suddenly, "Why? Why are you doing this?"

"Anna, you don't understand-"

"Make me understand!" Anna yelled. "Tell me what the hell you're doing this for! Why, _why_ can't I be happy?"

"Anna . . ."

"_Tell me_!" she shouted, taking a step closer to Elsa, her molten fury meeting the icy façade of her sister.

"Because . . . because you're a princess and you should be marrying a prince." It was the best she could do under this sort of pressure, and Elsa knew her reason wasn't even the least bit believable.

"You don't believe that," Anna said coldly. "You've _never_ believed that!"

Elsa shrunk away from her sister's anger, arms folding across her stomach, and she finally tore her eyes away. "Anna, please listen to me."

"Tell me the real reason! Haven't you lied to me enough?" Anna's fury made her desperate, and everything she had ever resented about Elsa came rushing out. "You ruined my childhood, you ruined my first love, you even ruined the first real conversation we had had in years! Why must you ruin this too?"

That was too much for Elsa, she could feel the first tears spilling over onto her cheeks.

"It's fifteen years later and you still won't tell me why!" Anna's voice dropped, to a darker tone. "I hate you."

More tears, she couldn't stop them.

"I _hate_ you!" Anna screamed, then turned and ran from the room, her fiery hair streaming behind her.

Elsa noticed the room getting darker; her eyes darted to the windows. The summer sky was starting to vanish behind snow clouds. _No_, Elsa thought to herself. _No, not again._

But snow was already starting to fall gently, because of Elsa's emotional turmoil. And she knew she couldn't do anything about it.

Everyone was staring at her, not a word was being said. Elsa's eyes were drawn to Kristoff, who had been on the other side of the room for the whole exchange. He was watching her too, his eyes dark and menacing. Their gazes locked, then Kristoff turned away, heading in the same direction Anna had gone.

Elsa wanted to go after them both; she could feel her body leaning in that direction. Then she heard someone clearing their throat softly, a little too close for comfort. She glanced over to her side, shoulders hunching, and to her distress she saw Hans standing there, making a pointed observation of the change in weather.

"Well," he said, and his voice just grated Elsa's nerves. "What is it about you and causing snowstorms when your sister wants to get married?"

If Elsa hadn't been running from the room she would have hit him.

**That was hard to write. Yikes, someone give Elsa a hug . . .**

**SpicedGold**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – I need Somebody that's Not You

Elsa had expected Kristoff to find her. She assumed he would yell and shout and demand an explanation. Or just glare at her until she crumbled and told him everything.

But it was not Kristoff that found Elsa, in the dead of night, sitting in the vast and empty dining room with her thoughts and a bottle of wine for company. It was Kai, armed with a single candle, who came quietly to her side.

"Sitting in the dark enjoying a drink, I see?" He sat opposite her.

"It was already open," Elsa replied, staring into the burgundy coloured liquid in her glass.

"Yes, I know. The festivities died down a bit after you and Princess Anna left the party."

Elsa was not in the mood for this, so she kept quiet and took another sip of wine.

"What's going on?" Kai asked. "This doesn't seem like something you would do."

"Sitting all alone? That sounds exactly like something I would do."

"I meant the wedding."

"I know what you meant." Elsa stared at the table, shoulders slumped. She didn't seem very keen on offering any explanation.

"You're wrong, you know." Kai said softly.

"I know."

"So why would you do this? Anyone can see that this is not the best thing for Princess Anna."

Elsa folded her arms on the table, and rested her chin on them. She kept stubbornly silent.

Kai sighed, and stood up. "Don't stay up all night."

Elsa just nodded, and closed her eyes.

* * *

"Queen Elsa?" Someone was calling very softly.

Elsa pried her eyes open, surprised to see that the world was a bit brighter. Was it morning already?

"Queen Elsa," it was Gerda, hovering over her and looking very concerned. "Have you been here all night?"

Elsa sat up, wincing. She was stiff, from spending the night asleep at the dining room table. She rubbed at her eyes. "Is it morning?"

"Yes."

"What time is it?"

"It's still very early. Hardly anyone is awake. I thought I should wake you, though."

"Thanks." Elsa rubbed at the back of her neck to try and ease the stiffness. She got to her feet, intending to go upstairs and try to find Anna. They had to talk, and the sooner the better.

* * *

Elsa knocked firmly on Anna's bedroom door, because it usually took quite a ruckus to wake her. She kept silent, though, because she was slightly worried that Anna wouldn't open if she knew it was Elsa outside.

Her plan worked, because a minute later the door opened, revealing a wild-haired princess with only one eye open.

"Anna-"

To Elsa's surprise, Anna slammed the door, very hard, leaving Elsa talking to a quiet, patterned piece of wood.

"Anna, open up, we need to talk about this."

"Can I get married to Kristoff?"

Elsa hesitated. "Well . . . no, but it's not-"

"Then go away," Anna shouted.

"I have to talk to you," Elsa said. "Please, Anna?"

There was a tense silence, then Anna opened the door a crack to glare at her sister. "All I want to hear is why."

Elsa bit her lip nervously. She couldn't say why. If she did . . . she could feel Kagami's presence, lingering in her mind and watching her every move. She obviously spent too long contemplating that, because in a few moments Anna slammed the door again, even harder than last time.

"Oh, dear," Kagami said softly. "She seems quite angry with you."

Elsa went to her own room, trying to tune him out. But you can't tune out your own mind.

"But she's perfectly safe, so it doesn't matter. Does it? Nothing matters if she's fine."

Elsa wanted to slam her door shut, but she resisted. She closed it softly, leaning against it the same way she had been doing for years, eyes on the ceiling and feeling completely helpless. Anna hated her. That was the worst part of it. And she couldn't tell her why, and that's all Anna had been asking of her for years.

'_I wish you would tell me why . . .'_ Elsa had heard that sentence a thousand times before, and once again she was unable to do anything about it. She sank to the floor, covering her face with her hands.

"Why?" she whispered, mostly to herself. "Why now, why me?"

"I feel I should mention," the cloud was damp and heavy, leaning into Elsa's shoulder. "That this is all your fault."

The ice inside her twisted, angry and frightened. "This is _not_ my fault."

"Of course it is. You were too selfish to share your magic, and now you're too selfish to even let your sister have the life she wants-"

"Enough," Elsa almost shouted, feeling completely overwhelmed. Shards of frustrated ice flew from her, scattering around the room. Elsa scrambled to her feet. "Where are you?"

Kagami formed in front of her, solid and menacing.

Elsa didn't even hesitate; ice was flying from her in bolts and flurries. Some of it, she was certain, was slamming into the magic cloud, but he morphed in and out of her vision so much that she was never certain where he was.

"Be careful," Kagami said, his voice flashing in and out of her mind as he changed form. "Every time you use your magic, I can copy it."

"It can't hurt _me_," Elsa snarled, seeing him flit at the edge of her vision. She sent more ice after him, letting it erupt from the floor and walls and turn her room into a deadly pointed maze.

"Oh, I know that," he slipped into her mind again. "But it can hurt everyone else."

Elsa stopped dead, snowflakes falling onto the floor as though all the power had been sucked from them. "You . . . what . . ."

"Everything that's touched me," Kagami reminded her, "Everything you've done here. I can take it, and use it. In fact, I think I just might have to show you how."

"No," Elsa said, stricken. "Don't do that."

"I still need to wait before I can take your magic. You're not _nearly_ upset enough for it to work. All I can do is take these little bits here and reuse them. But it's not enough, and you're not ready to give me more. The world around you needs to crumble," his words were rougher, angrier. "Every second needs to be worse than the one before and then, the magic you use in the _pit of despair_, that will be what I take. Don't forget that."

How could she? Elsa stared around her room, suddenly realising how much ice was in it, how dangerous it was. Kagami flitted away, leaving Elsa gaping at what she had done, and as her fear grew so did the ice around her, crackling and growing in time with her pounding heart.

She tried to make the ice disappear, but she was too unsettled. She sat down on the floor, on the only part of the room not blocked by jagged icicles, and waited for her heart to slow down. Her mind was whirling, because once this ice was gone she would have to go downstairs. People would be talking, and she would have to say something. Anna would be seething. Kai would be disapproving.

Elsa got slowly to her feet, not bothering about the ice in her room. It wasn't going anywhere; she could deal with it later. She took a few deep breaths, because she figured today would be a day of non-stop battles and being upset would only make it worse.

The moment she stepped outside her bedroom door things were already worse. Kristoff stopped dead on his way to Anna's room, a frown fixed on his face. Elsa felt her shoulders slump slightly in defeat, because this was the conversation she was dreading the most. Anna's raging and screaming was to be expected, but Elsa honestly had no idea how Kristoff was going to react. The two of them just looked at each other, an uncomfortable silence in the hall way.

Then, Kristoff asked quietly, "Is it me?"

"No," Elsa answered immediately. Then she shook her head. "It's not you."

His next question pretty much floored her. "Is it you?"

Elsa didn't know how to answer that. Silence had always been her best defence.

Kristoff continued on his way to Anna's room, but he muttered darkly as he passed her. "Freezing hearts just wasn't enough, now you're out right breaking them?"

_I'm breaking mine_, Elsa thought, keeping her head down. She knew Kristoff was only keeping his mouth shut around her because she was Anna's sister, and he wouldn't scream at her without permission. Even though she deserved it, and she absolutely felt like she did. Part of her wished he _would_ scream at her, because then she could say to Anna, 'see? You can't marry him because he's far too short tempered'.

It would be a flimsy excuse, but at least she would have one. Now, she wanted to sit on the floor and bawl because Anna was right, he was perfect for her.

Elsa did not sit on the floor and cry, no matter how much she wanted to, because she had to go downstairs and do something. She didn't even know what she was supposed to do, but anything was better than sitting alone and brooding.

The castle was busy, of course, because there were still hundreds of guests around, most of them in the dining room. As soon as Elsa entered, most conversation ceased, and she could feel every eye turn towards her. To her great relief, Kai came towards her.

He didn't look very friendly, but at least he was familiar.

"Kai," she said softly.

"Your majesty." It was probably the shortest greeting she had ever got from him. He waited to see if she would say anything, but Elsa was staring at the floor and twisting the end of her braid between her fingers. "Everyone is wondering what we are supposed to be doing today."

"Right, of course. Um," Elsa rubbed at her forehead, unsettled and unsure. "Tell the servants to start taking down the decorations."

Kai looked incredibly disapproving, but he didn't question her. "And what should I tell the guests?"

"Tell them-" Elsa was interrupted by another voice.

"Tell them not to listen to her," Anna had come into the dining room behind them, arms crossed and face set in a frown. "And leave the decorations up. The wedding will continue as planned."

Elsa had not foreseen this. She bit her lip, thinking. "Anna, everything comes down."

"No, it doesn't." Anna's jaw was jutting out stubbornly. "The wedding will go ahead."

"It will not," Elsa said firmly. "You are not marrying Kristoff and that is final." She should have known better than to challenge Anna, because the princess was hot-headed and spoke without thinking.

"I don't want to be alone like _you_," Anna snapped. "I actually want someone in my life who I can rely on. And I need Kristoff, because obviously that person is _not_ going to be you."

Elsa took a small step back. "Anna-"

"Kristoff loves me and wants me to be happy, and I thought you did too, but obviously I was wrong."

"I _do_ love you."

"I'm not seeing that right now. You're just trying to ruin everything, again, like you always do!" Anna's voice was increasing in volume, her anger becoming almost palpable. She glared at everyone in the room. "Leave the decorations up. Everything continues as planned."

She turned her glare to Elsa. "That's an order."

Elsa lifted her head a bit, trying to appear calm and in control. "You can't order anyone around."

She really didn't want to say this, but Anna wasn't exactly leaving her much choice.

"Anna, what I say goes, because-"

"Don't you dare," Anna warned.

"Because I am the queen."

Anna's screech was a surprise even to Elsa. "You are _not_ a queen to me!"

Elsa blinked.

"You're my _sister_, and that is _all_. I don't have to listen to you. I don't _want_ to listen to you. Don't you _dare_ try to order me to do something! Ever!" Anna glared at everyone in the room; they were all silent and listening. "Everyone keeps preparing for the wedding, like they should."

"You're not getting married," Elsa said, with a catch in her voice.

"You're not coming to the wedding," Anna said darkly. "You can go run away up to your stupid mountain fortress and stay there, but you're not ruining my life, not again."

"There isn't going to be a wedding," Elsa repeated. She desperately needed Anna to understand this.

Anna's expression darkened. "I'm through with listening to you." She brushed past, leaving the room in an irate rush.

Elsa stayed where she was, taking a moment to check her heart was still beating. It was, and it was a bittersweet relief to know it hadn't yet been broken.

Kai looked uncertain. "Your majesty?"

"Don't do anything," Elsa said tightly. "Don't take the decorations down, don't put any more up."

"And the guests? What shall I tell them?"

Elsa sighed. "Tell them to just be patient, please."

"I will." Kai bowed shallowly. "By the way, I agree with Princess Anna."

Elsa bit her thumb, murmuring under her breath. "So do I."

She left the dining room without getting any breakfast; the thought of food made her feel sick. She went to her study instead, because she couldn't take all the whispering and the accusing glances. She sat down at her desk, defeated and unhappy, and stared dully at the cloudy sky outside. It wasn't snowing, but the clouds looked like they might start at any moment.

She tried to will them away, to bring back the bright summer sun, but she couldn't undo anything when she was upset. The clouds remained in the sky, stubbornly reminding her that she was out of control of her own powers.

She had no idea how long she sat in her study for, quietly rearranging all the papers on her desk, and ignoring every knock on the door. But eventually Kai opened the door anyway, despite her lack of answer and peered inside.

"It's getting late. Do you want me to bring you something to eat?"

"No thanks, Kai," Elsa replied. "I'm not hungry. How is Anna?"

"Since you ordered everyone to do nothing all day, she has been continuing with the wedding preparations on her own."

Elsa flinched. She could imagine that; Anna stubbornly ticking things off on one of Elsa's lists as she doggedly completed each task alone.

"Can I get you anything else?" Kai asked.

Elsa needed someone to talk to. She needed someone who would listen and not judge. And unfortunately for her, the one person she would turn to never wanted to speak to her again. And this whole situation was way over Olaf's head; it wouldn't be fair to burden him with all of this.

"Actually," she hesitated, glancing at the heavy sky. "There is."

Kai nodded expectantly.

"Can you please send someone to find Ace? You remember him, the vet that helped with Sven's leg?"

"Yes, I remember. What shall I tell him?"

"Just tell him I need him here. Right away."

"Will do, your majesty," Kai nodded once more, then withdrew his head from the study and closed the door.

Elsa slumped in her seat. There was nothing left to do, except wait.

* * *

"I just need you to listen," Elsa closed the door to her study, locked it, fiddled with the lock. She was tense and nervous and nothing was going right. There was so much energy radiating from her she was surprised Ace hadn't asked what was wrong.

He had sat down on the couch, elbow propped on one arm rest, and his head in his hand. His short black hair looked uncombed, and his simple clothes were rumpled, as though slept in. He was watching her, but his dark eyes were hooded and he looked half asleep.

"I have to tell someone what's happening, and I thought of you, because well, you listen, and you don't interrupt." Had Elsa ever rambled before? She stopped herself, and began pacing the room instead. "Something has happened, and I don't know what to do."

"What happened?" Ace hid a yawned behind his other hand.

"I can't tell you."

He blinked. "Hold on a moment. You called me here to tell me something that you can't tell me?"

"Yes."

"I'm not sure you thought this through."

"I can't tell you _what_ happened, I can just tell you _something_ has happened, and I need help."

"Okay. I'm listening."

"Something has come up," Elsa chose her words carefully. She wasn't going to give any details away, even though at the moment her mind was clear and she couldn't feel Kagami anywhere. "And Anna can't get married."

Ace nodded, his eyes drifting shut again.

"But I can't tell her why, and she hates me for that, and I don't know what to do about it."

"This thing, the 'situation', am I to assume its life or death?"

"It _is_ life or death. _Her_ life! And if I tell anyone about it, she's going to die. There is no way around this."

"The situation . . . can it be resolved?"

Elsa stopped her pacing. She stared at him, mentally running through her options. How do you destroy magic? Could Kagami be stopped or defeated? She faltered, "I don't know."

"Then I think the first thing you need to do is figure out whether or not it can be resolved. If there's a way to get rid of the 'situation', you should probably do it." He yawned again. His eyes drifted closed, and stayed like that.

"Are you sleeping?" Elsa asked incredulously. "My whole world is going up in smoke, and you're _sleeping_?"

"I was up all night," Ace said drowsily. "With two abnormal births of horses. One mare had twins, the other just had a breech birth. Then I spent most of today trying to save a dog that was attacked by wolves. I was just going to bed when I was forcibly removed from my home and brought here."

"Sorry," Elsa said. "I needed someone to talk to. I don't know what to do." She was aware that her voice was breaking, and fitting metaphor for the life was leading right now.

"Whatever this is, you need to figure out how it can be fixed," Ace said sensibly. He was about to add something when he yawned again, covering his mouth with one hand. "Let me know if I can help."

Elsa chewed on the end of her thumb, distracted and upset. She was still pacing, her eyes blank and troubled.

Ace's eyes slid closed again. He was concerned about Elsa, and this mysterious life or death situation that had got her all riled up, but he was only human and he couldn't help being exhausted. He usually had much more helpful advice to give, but his brain was mush and not being particularly helpful.

Eventually, Elsa looked towards him again, and said in a barely audible voice. "You can stay here tonight."

Ace nodded slightly, without opening his eyes. "Thanks."

He would have fallen asleep right there and then, to the sound of Elsa pacing back and forth, but the temperature in the room suddenly dropped to below zero and his eyes snapped open from the cold.

Elsa was standing absolutely still, each breath shuddering in fear, her eyes locked onto something that Ace could not see. He watched her, noted her trembling shoulders, saw her shake her head very carefully. There was a silent conversation going on here, he realised, and his keen eyes noticed everything.

Every movement Elsa made, each breath she took, was a clue for him to piece together and figure out what was bothering her. He remained silent, observing, until Elsa suddenly snapped back to reality, hands immediately going to her hair, her frightened gaze falling to the floor.

She offered no explanation, and he offered no observation.

Elsa didn't say anything more to him, just left the room, taking the cold with her.

* * *

Elsa couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned, lonely and fretful and afraid. She needed someone there, something tangible to touch and feel and to ground her.

She wanted Anna. Since the Great Thaw, the two of them had often spent nights together. It was usually following long, catching up talks, when the other was too tired to bother going to their own bed. Sometimes it was following a stressful day, and Elsa would snuggle up to Anna and feel the weight of the world lifting.

She needed that tonight. But Anna was not speaking to her, Anna hated her, and Elsa wouldn't blame her if Anna told her to get lost and never come back again. But she had to try.

Elsa padded softly to Anna's room, opened the door silently and stepped inside. It was dark inside, hard to see, but Elsa knew exactly where Anna was and spoke softly into the darkness. "Anna?"

She did not expect the reply to be so quick, or so sharp. "What?" Anna snapped, not making any effort to hide her displeasure.

Elsa hesitated. She hadn't expected a warm welcome, but Anna's harsh tone still hurt more than she had thought it would. "Can . . . can I stay here tonight?"

"What do you think?" Anna replied, her voice even sharper in the darkness.

Elsa didn't move; she didn't want to leave. She would have been perfectly happy to spend the rest of the night sitting on the floor, if only she could be near Anna.

Anna sat up. "Just get out, leave me alone."

"Anna . . ."

"Out," she repeated firmly.

Elsa backed quietly out of the room, feeling heavier than ever and weighed down with far too many problems. She closed the door very softly, not wanting to disturb Anna any more than necessary. She was debating what to do next when she heard a slight movement. Her heart lifted for a moment, thinking Anna was reconsidering, she felt delight flutter in her belly.

Then there was the sound of the door lock clicking shut, and it's echoing around the hallway covered the sound of Elsa's heart breaking.

* * *

Ace was pulled from his deep, exhausted sleep by persistent but very soft knocking on his door. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, blinking and trying to remember where he was. In the castle. Spending the night.

He got up slowly, and went to the bedroom door. It took him a while to figure out who was standing there, because his eyes were still mostly closed and it was dark and he didn't have the energy to actually open them properly. "Queen Elsa?"

"Can I stay here tonight?" she asked, in a trembling whisper.

Ace's sleep addled brain did not understand. "Do you want me to go somewhere else?"

"No."

A long silence stretched out while Elsa waited, and Ace struggled to make sense of the very brief conversation. He clued in to it after a while. "Oh. Come in."

He was awake enough to shuffle away from the door, and Elsa came inside, looking wide awake and terrified. Ace closed the door again, stumbled back to bed and fell onto his stomach. After a brief moment of fruitless groping he found his blanket and tugged it over himself.

He could hear Elsa wandering around restlessly, pausing at the window, then moving again. He was nearly asleep when he felt the bed suddenly dip as more weight was added. He stayed still, years of working with animals had taught him to make no sudden movements. He was fairly certain Elsa wouldn't spook and run away, but she seemed to need the security of simple and predictable movements.

He kept quiet while she got comfortable, shifting and turning and twisting, and stayed quiet even when he felt her trembling.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – There must be a Way

Elsa left before Ace was awake. She needed to go outside and just think.

She knew it was early and she wasn't looking her best but she really didn't care. Her ice dress was immaculate at the very least, and there was no one around to see her with her hair going every which way, loose and tangled.

She wandered to a balcony overlooking the gardens, where there were already several tables set up, and decorations for the ceremony. The sky was bright and blue, the sun was already warming everything. People would be moving about soon, continuing uncertainly with preparations, caught between Anna's stubborn insistence and Elsa's sudden retraction of the wedding.

Elsa scrubbed the sleep from her eyes, and went inside to get ready for the day. She didn't know what today was supposed to bring, but she couldn't face it half awake.

Elsa had been hoping Anna would sleep in late, sulking, because she didn't have the energy to face her right away, but when Elsa came down to the dining room, hair neat and beautiful once again, Anna was already sitting down, staring at the table, looking lost and dejected.

Elsa stopped where she was, feeling her heart pause at the very sight of her sister.

Anna chose that exact moment to look up, and when she caught sight of Elsa her face morphed into a scowl.

It was like a punch in the gut, Elsa felt her legs tremble for a second and was afraid she might collapse where she stood. But she didn't, she managed to stay upright and even walk a little bit, towards Anna. She needed a shred of normalcy, she just needed to be close to Anna. Close enough to feel the heat of her body and know that she was still there, still alive, because the look on her face right now made her look like someone Elsa had never met before.

But Anna stood up as Elsa approached, her glare deepening. "Don't talk to me."

"Anna-"

"I don't want to hear it." Anna was almost shouting already, oozing anger from every pore in her body. She looked like she was going to yell more when a sudden shriek from the direction of the kitchens startled both sisters into looking that way.

A maid came barrelling from the connecting hall way, white as a ghost and screaming hysterically.

People rushed to surround her, all talking at once, and Elsa hovered at the edge of the crowd, wondering what could possibly go wrong now.

Eventually, the maid's shrieking subsided, and turned into a stuttered, panicked explanation, "I-in the kitchens! There's a maid in the kitchens!"

Not all that earth shattering, Elsa mused.

"She's frozen. She's made of ice."

A sudden silence descended on the room, then everyone turned to look accusingly at Elsa. The Queen was rooted to the spot, feeling the first spirals of complete shock take over. A drumming in her ears, an empty pit in her stomach, a vice around her heart. She wanted to run, but found that she couldn't, because the eyes of every person in the room weighed her down with paralysing fear.

It was Anna, surprisingly, who moved first, storming across the room towards Elsa. Elsa's sense of relief was very short lived, as her sister did not place herself between Elsa and the mob and start defending her but rather pointed her dagger like gaze at Elsa, unmoving and positively emotionless. Elsa stared back, because what else could she do?

Then Anna grabbed Elsa's wrist, not at all gently, and yanked her arm, hard, as she continued out of the room. Elsa let herself be dragged, because facing Anna's wrath was child's play compared to explaining a frozen person to a bunch of judgemental strangers. Anna didn't say a word, just marched purposefully through the castle, her nails digging into Elsa's skin, dragging her towards the library.

Elsa was hoping she would have a chance to explain, and the library had always been a safe haven for her, some place to be herself and to relax. That looked set to change, however, as Anna threw the door open, pulled Elsa forcefully inside, and slammed the door loud enough to make Elsa jump.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Anna hissed, the sheer force of her glare pinning Elsa against the door.

Elsa had never felt more trapped in her life; she just stared at her sister, keeping her face as blank as she could.

"Why are you doing this? What did I do?"

"It's not you," Elsa whispered, barely audible.

"Then what did _you_ do?" Anna asked, "What the hell is your problem?"

The frozen maid, the threat against the Anna, the innocent people, the weather outside . . . it was all too much. Elsa could feel herself starting to shake. "I . . ."

Anna was in no mood to be patient. "Can you really not tell me why you're ruining my life? Would it kill you to trust me?"

"It would kill you," Elsa finally put a sentence together.

It was not was Anna was expecting. "What the hell does that even mean? Tell me what's going on, why are you so secretive? Why are you ruining everything? For god's sake, you froze someone, and you won't tell me why?"

"It wasn't me."

"Wasn't you?" Anna repeated, getting a little too close for comfort. "Wasn't _you_? Who was it, then? How many other people are running around here with ice powers that I should know about?" She was all fury and rage, red hot with passion.

And scaring Elsa half to death. "I can't tell you."

"Don't even say that! I'm sick of hearing it! If you're going to screw up my whole life I think you at least owe me an explanation. This is the _second_ time you've done it, after all!"

Elsa felt her heart seize for a moment, then it thankfully restarted again, albeit at a much faster pace.

"Tell me why," Anna demanded.

Elsa let out a breath, keeping her palms flat against the door. She just shook her head slightly, keeping her eyes on Anna's and thinking _please, please, please understand me_.

Anna's face darkened, she stepped back. "Fine." Without asking Elsa to move, Anna grabbed the door handle and yanked the door open.

Elsa stumbled a few steps forwards, turning to follow Anna's movement.

Anna stormed out of the room. She didn't look back, but she did shout as she rounded the corner. "You haven't touched me, but you're freezing my heart again."

Elsa swallowed, and to her dismay she could hear the snow outside increasing slightly.

* * *

"Pack your things," Anna said tightly. "We're leaving."

"Leaving?" Kristoff echoed. He was lying on his bed, watching the snow falling outside and generally looking depressed. He sat up. "To go where?"

"It doesn't matter where. Anywhere." Anna looked like she wanted to punch something. "Just somewhere without her."

Kristoff didn't need to ask who 'her' was. He started gathering the things they would need.

* * *

Elsa found Ace outside, on the castle steps, with a young boy and a puppy. She remained hidden in the doorway, just listening for a moment.

Ace was gently inspecting the puppy's leg, while the boy watched anxiously. "See? That's all better now. Puppies are much stronger than you think."

"So he'll be okay?" the boy's voice was shaking.

"Absolutely. He'll be just fine." Ace rubbed the puppy's head. "Just keep him off any slippery patches."

The boy lifted the puppy into his arms, smiling at Ace. "Thank you, mister vet." His gaze suddenly snapped upwards, and he spotted Elsa hovering. He took a few steps back, then turned and ran.

Ace glanced over his shoulder. "So, I see we've reached the stage where people see you and run in fear."

Elsa came outside, one hand remaining on the door because she needed something to ground her.

"Do I need to run?" He got to his feet, brushing snow from his clothes.

"Please don't." She sounded small and terrified.

Ace crossed his arms, watching her carefully. It was the most closed off she had ever seen him. "You'll have noticed that it's snowing."

Elsa looked at the sky, and the soft covering of snow over the castle and the ground.

"Blackmail or schizophrenia?"

"What?" Elsa asked, confused.

"I've seen you stop, once or twice, and it looks like you're talking to something, but there is nothing there." Ace straightened his hair absently. "And you become tense and afraid, and there's something you need to protect. So, I figure, there's either something blackmailing you into this, something that I cannot see, or you've finally flipped and gone mad."

Out of Ace's entire speech, there was only one line that jumped out at Elsa. "What do you mean 'finally flipped'?"

"Matter of time, with someone like you." Ace had the audacity to come closer to her. "I've seen it before. Self-conscious, self-doubting, self-loathing. Unfairly hard on yourself. Trying to live up to impossible expectations set by yourself, a perfectionist . . . that's a recipe for disaster. Throw in a high stress job and lack of social skills, and well, you're bound to snap at some point."

Elsa would have disagreed with him if she hadn't thought he was spot on.

"So, which is it?"

"I can't say."

"Blackmail, then," Ace decided.

Elsa had a brief moment of panic, thinking 'Kagami thinks I've told him, he's going to kill Ace!' But not only was her mind clear, she found with a resounding sense of relief that her conscience was too.

"Better go after Anna, then, and set this straight." Ace sounded definitive.

"I can't tell her anything."

"That's okay," Ace flashed her his brilliant smile. "I can." He started towards the stables.

Elsa hurried after him. "Why are you helping me? Haven't you heard what's going on?"

"I heard you cancelled your sister's wedding, won't tell her why, have caused a snowstorm again and froze a person," Ace rattled off the list with ease. "But I don't believe that's _you_."

"What?" Elsa was so flummoxed by Ace not wanting to run and scream at her mere presence that she was struggling to keep up with his train of thought.

"I've seen what death did to you," Ace continued. "I know you have nightmares and you shake in your sleep. I don't think you're capable to killing with intention. I believe that whatever happened to that maid, you didn't do it."

There was an overwhelming sense of relief settling in Elsa's stomach.

"Now, you're the only one around here with the power to do such a thing, of course, so either I'm a fool for believing in you or there is something going on here that I haven't thought of yet."

"Why did you even assume it wasn't my fault in the first place?"

"Same reason as always. I can see things that other people don't." Ace paused at the door to the stables, finally making eye contact with her once again. His were dark and serious, hers wild and blue and afraid. "You don't want any of this to be happening."

Elsa nodded, and suddenly the world seemed to weigh a bit less on her shoulders. Ace understood, he knew this wasn't her fault. He was going to help her.

"I've made a career out of getting information from animals that do not talk," Ace reminded her. "It's pretty easy to get things out of you."

* * *

They started their ride in relative silence. Elsa was still calming down after the burst of elation that Ace did not think she was a selfish, heartless murderer, and he was going to tell Anna. Everything would be alright. Ace was mulling, occasionally glancing towards Elsa, looking her up and down for some sort of clue about what she was thinking, then turning his gaze straight ahead and piecing together what he had observed.

"You're angry at yourself," he said, after at least an hour had passed.

Elsa didn't say anything.

"You think you caused this."

"I did." _I didn't agree to what Kagami wanted at the beginning. If I had just gone along with him, none of this would be happening_. She willed her thoughts towards Ace, dying to give him more information.

"You always blame yourself. That's just the type of person you are."

"This is my fault."

"I don't know if it is, or isn't. I'm still missing half the conversation; I've only got what I've observed."

"Everyone thinks I killed someone. Anna thinks I'm running her life on purpose. All the evidence suggests it's me. Why do you believe it isn't me?"

"I've spent my life working with animals. Trying to get them healed when they can't always tell me what's wrong. Trying to see what they are saying. Just because they cannot talk about their problems doesn't make their problems any less real. I am their voice. And, right or wrong, you need a voice. It's going to be me."

Elsa sent him a grateful smile, sitting up a little bit straighter because finally, she was not bearing this alone. Her smile stopped very abruptly when she felt the tingling of Kagami surfacing in her mind again.

Ace noticed the change in her behaviour instantly, and locked his eyes onto her, taking in every tiny detail.

"He's very good at observing," Kagami said, his voice reverberating around Elsa's head. "How much did you tell him?"

_I didn't tell him anything. You know that. You can read my mind. _She was defiant, and secure in the knowledge that she was in the right. _He figured it out all on his own._

"Remember how I'll take your magic?" His voice drove a spike of fear through Elsa's chest. "I told you. Completely desperate, in despair, on the brink of breaking down. That's how I want you, but he's interfering with that." The spike of fear was pointed and sharp and Elsa could feel it growing. "I think I should fix that."

Ace was startled when Elsa suddenly shouted, "No!" His horse jumped as something appeared in front of him, something unlike any creature he had ever seen before. It was long, large, and like a snarling lithe dragon.

"What the hell-?" he asked.

Elsa's jumbled mind flashed through several thoughts. _Ace can see him, Kagami's in a solid form, my magic can hurt him now-_ and the ice erupted from her without her will, sharp and swift.

It was fast enough to pierce Kagami's side, and the creature shrieked in pain, launched into the air and vanishing from sight. Ace was looking around, trying to pinpoint where it had gone.

"Don't forget," Kagami whispered to Elsa. "Any magic you use on me, I can use again."

Elsa had only a second to guess what that meant, then Kagami flashed in front of Ace again, and to Elsa's horror she saw a shard of magic, _her magic_, flying from Kagami's clawed hands and strike Ace in the forehead.

He slumped, then fell senselessly to the ground, his horse spinning around and taking off in fear.

For a terrifying moment everything stood still, then Elsa regained her senses and jumped off her horse, kneeling down next to Ace's lifeless body. "What did you do?"

"I merely put things back on track." Kagami was mercifully outside of Elsa's head, solid and very real at her side. She could see the scales on his head, sprouts of fur along the back of his neck. His eyes were empty. "Now we can continue."

"Just take my magic," Elsa pleaded, keeping one hand protectively on Ace's shoulder. "Take it and go away."

"It doesn't work that way." Kagami's voice was a rough growl. "And even if it did; _this_ way is so much better. He's not dead." Kagami melted away, brushing a last thought into Elsa's mind. "It's just his mind that's frozen."

There was a disconcerting sense of déjà vu to this, as Elsa stared at Ace's sleeping face and the little streak of white that crawled into his hair. She couldn't lift him into her horse, she wasn't strong enough. And panic was making her weaker, dizzy with dread.

For a few minutes she struggled to lift him, not even sure what the next step was if she could get him off the ground. Then her horse came hesitantly to her side, ears twitching nervously.

"Unless you're going to help," Elsa snapped, "You can just back off."

The horse was obviously well trained, for it sank to its knees, then lay quietly. Elsa's common sense finally caught her, and she managed to heave Ace across the saddle. Then she climbed up behind him, because her knees were starting to shake and she wasn't going to be able to walk for much longer.

The horse got carefully to its feet again, then patiently awaited further instructions.

Elsa was in a bit of sticky situation now, because while she was fairly certain about what needed to be done – get Ace to the trolls to remove the ice from his head – she had only been there once before and wasn't sure if she could remember the route.

As she urged her horse forwards, she did find two things working in her favour. One was the tracks of Kristoff's sled, faint but still visible. The second was Anna's inability to keep quiet, because she had often described the route to the trolls in great detail. Elsa was able to tick off land marks as she rode, and it was a great relief to know she was going in the right direction.

Elsa didn't know what she was going to do if Anna was actually there. Would she let Elsa help Ace? Would she tell the trolls not to help them? What if Anna had told the trolls everything, and they decided to just let Ace die?

Elsa spent the rest of the ride in a panicked silence, mulling over these and a million other questions. When the Valley of the Living Rock came into view, a knot of anxiety twisted in her stomach, but so far she couldn't see Anna or Kristoff. She closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating on her breathing, _calm down, calm down_, then opened them and nearly had a heart attack.

Bulda was standing on a rock at eye level with her, hands on her hips, looking very displeased.

Elsa waited to see if she would speak first.

The troll looked at Elsa, then at Ace, then raised an eyebrow. "What do we have here?"

"It's not what you think."

"I think you froze this poor boy's mind."

"Then that's obviously not what happened, isn't it?" Elsa asked coolly. She was getting pretty tired of everyone assuming the worst about her. "I need help."

"I'll say," Bulda said.

Another awkward silence stretched between them, then Bulda spoke again.

"I'm here because I thought you would come. Didn't expect the boy. And I want to know what's going on. Anna says you won't tell her anything."

"Did she say I _can't_ tell her anything, because that's what's really going on."

"Oh, _sure_, you're the victim here."

Elsa wished Bulda wasn't being sarcastic, because that was exactly what she was feeling right now. "Please. Just help Ace. That's all I'm asking."

Bulda reached out a hand and laid it on Ace's still form. "He's freezing cold."

"I know. It wasn't me." That was all Elsa could say, and she knew no one believed her. Even Bulda was looking at her doubtfully, and Elsa couldn't blame her. Who else had ice powers? The only other person who knew about Kagami was Ace, and he was currently suffering from a very severe case of brain freeze. He wasn't about to defend her.

"Wait here," Bulda said, then hopped off the rock and disappeared.

Elsa didn't have much of a choice. She sat on her horse, staring at Ace, and feeling completely alone. The one person who believed in her was unconscious, and the one person who was supposed to believe in her no matter what had run away in a rage.

Elsa was alone. Like she had been for thirteen years. It was happening again.

Kagami wanted absolute despair; he was getting it.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – We Can't Face this thing Together

**Quick note, feel free to skip it. A couple of people are pretty pissed with Anna for not noticing Elsa's a bit off her rocker, but here's my logic (based on my sister). If I told my sister she couldn't see Pokes anymore (not her boyfriend, my horse) she wouldn't care why, she would be so angry with me I'd have to lock my bedroom door at night. Since she's less feisty than Anna, I think it's safe to assume Anna's going to react worse than my sister. Besides, when the world falls down around you, it can be impossible to reach anyone else over the pieces.**

**Not saying Anna is right, or even smart, but she's not wrong. Carry on.**

Grand Pappie and Bulda returned, with the old troll looking very serious. He didn't waste time, just jumped up on the rock to bring him level with her, and asked in a low voice. "What have you done, Elsa?"

"I didn't do it," she replied tightly.

Both trolls gave her the exact same look, and Elsa suddenly realised where Sven had got it from.

She couldn't defend herself anymore, because there was nothing more to say. She just kept her pleading gaze on Grand Pappie, silently begging for help. The old troll put a hand on Ace's forehead, closing his eyes and concentrating on drawing the magic out.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and took his hand away. "He will wake up soon."

"Will he be alright?" Elsa asked.

Bulda was looking at her quizzically, but Elsa didn't have time to dwell on it. Grand Pappie nodded. "He will be fine. But, to remove the magic I also had to take the memory that went with it. He won't remember how he got hurt, or the events leading up to it."

"Thank you," Elsa said. "I really mean it." She tried to smile, but then she suddenly realised what Kagami had been aiming for in the first place: Ace wouldn't remember why they were together. He wouldn't remember the reason they were riding together. He wouldn't remember that Elsa was innocent. Elsa felt a hollow inside her chest, another powerful blow breaking her self-confidence down.

"Elsa?" Bulda asked, head tilted to one side.

"What?" Elsa was startled out of her morbid thoughts.

"You've never been good at hiding your emotions."

Elsa knew that, it was the reason for thirteen years of solitude. Because she had never been strong enough to conceal them.

"Why did you call off the wedding?"

Elsa wished she hadn't been asked that, because her face shut down, the hollow inside her increased in size, she leaned forwards slightly trying to block her body off from the world. "I . . . I can't say."

"Thought as much," Bulda said. "You don't seem like you're doing it for any sort of selfish reasons. I can see too much remorse in your face."

Remorse, gut wrenching despair, synonyms really.

"Anna and Kristoff are in the valley," Bulda said. "I think you need to talk to them."

"They don't want to talk to me," Elsa murmured.

"But they need to. I'll fetch them. You'll have some privacy out here." Bulda jumped down from the rock and disappeared.

Grand Pappie looked at Elsa with a lot of concentration on his wizened face. Eventually, he said, "Be careful. Secrets have a cost."

"No one knows that better than me."

Grand Pappie turned away from her, but the slight shake of his head was clearly asking, 'then why are you keeping this one?' The troll jumped down from the rock and disappeared from sight.

Elsa dismounted her horse, taking rather short nervous breaths. She had no idea how to start talking to Anna, because she couldn't risk divulging anything that Kagami considered 'their secret'. He had attacked Ace so swiftly and ruthlessly that Elsa was certain he would not hesitate to attack Anna.

She was so busy winding herself up with that train of thought that she didn't even see Anna approaching, standing with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face, until the princess cleared her throat loudly.

Elsa's head jerked up, and for what had to be the first time she could ever remember, she did not smile as she laid eyes on her sister. She wanted to, she could feel her heart leap hopefully when she caught sight of her, but Anna's expression was not very welcoming.

Anna glanced at Ace, draped across the horse like a sack of potatoes, and asked frostily, "Did you freeze him too?"

"I didn't freeze anyone."

"Then, please, Elsa, tell me who did it? Who is this mysterious ice wielder that you conveniently can't speak about? Or are you just unhappy about me getting married, and figure everyone should be unhappy too?" Anna was out to do damage, clearly.

Elsa drew herself up, trying to maintain some level of dignity despite the fact that the weight of the world was crushing her. "Anna, I need you to trust me."

"So that you can ruin my life? What reason could there possibly be for all this?"

"It's not what you think it is, not even close to what you think. I'm doing this for you."

"You killed someone."

"I did not!" Elsa almost shouted, the end of her tether had been reached quite a while back.

"There is no one else," Anna countered. "No one else could possibly have done it. You're doing this to me, and I don't know why. What did I do to you?" There was a note of pleading in Anna's voice, underneath the anger. "Just tell me who did this, tell me it wasn't you, because I don't want to believe that it is but you won't give me a chance to believe anything else. Tell me why. If you're not guilty of doing these things, just tell me who is."

But Elsa couldn't. She stared at Anna, wishing beyond all hope that Anna would please, please, _please_ believe in her and trust her. But silence, to Anna, was admitting to freezing people and calling off the wedding for her own reasons.

Anna looked disappointed. "Thought so."

"You climbed a mountain for me once," Elsa said. "You followed me into danger, you risked your whole life, because you had faith in me and you believed that I was good. You wouldn't believe anyone who said I was a monster. You defended me with the very last breath in your body, even after I froze your heart. Where did all that faith go? What happened to 'we can face this thing together'?"

It was her only argument, a desperate plea, a reminder that Anna had never, ever doubted her before.

It wasn't enough. "You turned your back on me first." Anna's voice grew softer with every sentence. "For thirteen years, you kept secrets from me. You closed all the doors. I used to believe in you, because I thought you were perfect. We can't face this together. Because you are never at my side."

Anna turned away. "How can I believe in you when you never give me a reason to?"

Elsa wanted to stop her from walking away, she wanted to cry out and stop Anna in her tracks. But there was a lump in her throat that made it impossible to say anything. All she could do was stare at Anna's retreating back, watching her world walk away from her.

Silence descended around her, and there was the unmistakable feeling of snowflakes falling softly onto Elsa's skin.

* * *

It was one thing being alone because you felt you deserved it. When Elsa was eight years old she had thought it was justifiable punishment to be locked away. She had hurt her sister, and that was the worst thing in the world. She _should_ have been locked away, because she was dangerous.

But now, Elsa was sitting alone and feeling as though this should not be happening to her. She hadn't caused any of this; she had been doing everything right. Was it really her destiny to be alone, and to be hated by everyone? Was that little spate of having Anna back again too good to be true?

She was sitting in a dejected ball of misery, face hidden in her folded arms, her back against a tall rock, waiting for Ace to wake up. And deciding what on earth to do after that. Did she take him back to Arendelle? Chase after Anna? Run away and hide somewhere for ever?

That last option sounded the most appealing, but Elsa knew it was impractical. She couldn't leave Arendelle without warning, and the place was under a foot of snow, that had to be addressed. She was still running in mental circles, indecisive and uncertain, when Ace began shifting on the ground.

Elsa unfolded herself, hovering near him.

Ace blinked several times in rapid succession, then sat up and looked around, clearly bewildered. He shot Elsa a questioning look. "Queen Elsa? Where are we?"

"This is the Valley of the Living Rock," Elsa explained. "Um . . . Do you remember why we were . . . together?"

Ace rubbed his eyes, then said, "The last thing I remember is delivering a foal."

Elsa's heart sank.

"Then I remember your guards coming and saying you wanted to see me. I don't remember what you wanted to talk about, though. Have you already told me? What happened to me?"

That brought Elsa up short, because how was she supposed to answer him? She couldn't tell anyone about Kagami, but there was no possible way to enlighten Ace without giving the magic cloud away. She was alone in this struggle again.

"And shouldn't we be in Arendelle?" Ace questioned. This was the most confusing day of his life.

"I need your help," Elsa said. "But I can't tell you why. I just need you to trust me. Please?"

"Of course." Ace said.

"You're going to hear things, or see things, but I need to know that you'll trust me no matter what happens. Whatever you hear . . . _please_ believe in me." Elsa pleaded.

Ace's dark eyes flickered around, and as always he had an uncanny knack for reading her. "Something terrible is bothering you."

"Promise me."

"You have my word, Queen Elsa." Ace looked as sincere as always.

"Great," Elsa breathed. "We'll have to go back to Arendelle, to get another horse. Wait here, I'll just go ask the trolls which way Anna went."

"Ask the what?"

* * *

"So," Ace said, after they had been riding in silence for an hour, "What's gone wrong?"

Elsa was glad she was sitting behind him, so he wouldn't see the worry creasing onto her face. "I can't talk about it."

"I know that. Just thought I would ask."

"Why?"

"Your answers give away a lot more than you think."

Elsa's heart jumped hopefully. "What do you think happened?"

"Well, memory loss can usually be attributed to head trauma. The Queen of Arendelle acting like a mob is after her is probably caused by something a bit worse than a bump on the head. I assume I fell off my horse when we were escaping whatever 'thing' you can't talk about."

Elsa's silence didn't really help the conversation.

"And while I'm perfectly willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, I'd appreciate it if you could let me know if I was going to be shot on arrival in Arendelle?"

"Shouldn't happen," Elsa said quietly. "But it'll be night time, anyway."

"And I'm pretty sure that it was summer when I bumped my head," Ace cast a doubtful eye at the clouds above him. "Was I unconscious for four months, or do you have something to do with the weather?"

Elsa sighed, because she didn't know what to think anymore, and Ace's catching up was just reminding her that she was completely out of control. She wanted to rest her head on his back and just close her eyes. But she didn't, because she was a Queen, and she barely knew him, and a thousand other reasons she was too tired to think of.

She let her eyes drift closed anyway, because she hadn't been sleeping and she was so tired. And the quiet was soothing, and Ace's presence was calming. The horse was rocking her gently, and Elsa finally gave in to temptation and leaned forward a bit, resting her cheek on Ace's back and letting out a sigh of relief. She wouldn't fall asleep, she told herself. She just needed a minute to rest her eyes and collect her thoughts.

The next moment Elsa found herself easing back into consciousness to the sound of Ace's quiet voice. "Queen Elsa? We're back in Arendelle."

"That was quick."

"You've been asleep for the last few hours."

Elsa shot upright. "Why didn't you wake me?"

Ace was looking at her over his shoulder, one eyebrow raised. "Because you clearly needed to rest. Now, where do you want me to go?"

"Straight to the stables. Try not to be seen."

"That shouldn't be hard, it's dark out and there's a snowstorm."

Elsa didn't know if Ace was _trying_ to make her feel bad, but his comment certainly did the trick. She felt her chest tighten at the mention of the weather. Unconsciously, she bit her lip, casting worried eyes at the sky.

Ace guided the horse into the castle's courtyard without being seen, and trotted quietly to the stables.

Elsa wondered what was happening inside. Poor Kai was probably going mad trying to figure out what to do, with both the Queen and the Princess missing, and all the guests for the wedding still present. And the fact that it had become rather cold all of a sudden, and she was certain no one was equipped for winter weather in the middle of summer. There would be people complaining, maybe even freezing, and it was all her fault.

Elsa was still running through all the things wrong with the whole situation when Ace dismounted the horse.

"I'll be quick," he said softly. "Wait here."

Elsa was relatively safe, hidden in the shadow of the stable building, and there were not many people around due to the sudden inexplicable weather. She shifted into a more comfortable position on her horse, since Ace was no longer in front of her, and waited.

She had almost convinced herself that this would be fine; she would go after Anna and explain everything and Anna would forgive her. They would figure out how to get rid of Kagami, and everything would go back to normal. But then someone came around the corner of the stables, swinging a bucket and whistling.

Elsa recognised him as one of the stable boys, and he stopped when he saw her. There was a flicker of confusion on his face, then Elsa felt Kagami stirring in her mind.

* * *

Ace was leading his horse out of its stall and into the stable aisle when he heard a commotion. He dragged the horse with more urgency, and burst into the courtyard.

There were not a lot of people there, but they were starting to assemble, drawn by the shouting and by someone obviously running into the castle and raising the alarm. Ace could see a boy on the ground, struggling to get to his feet again, doubled over as though struck in the chest.

Elsa, still on her horse, and looking mortified, was in front of him; Ace assumed the horse had skittered into the open at whatever fright had caused Elsa to look like a ghost.

As Ace approached them, sensing time was of the essence here, the boy managed to straighten, his hair turning white, his whole body trembling. Ace saw the boy's fingers turning blue, then the icy colour travelled up his arms, spreading throughout his whole body. Within minutes, he was frozen solid, an ethereal sculpture, forever trapped in a position of terror.

Elsa was staring at him, and Ace could see her breathing, uneven and ragged and clearly petrified. Her words ran through his head again, _You're going to hear things, or see things, but I need to know that you'll trust me no matter what happens. Whatever you hear . . . please believe in me . . ._

There was a boy frozen solid before him, directly in front of Elsa. What was Ace supposed to think? What was he supposed to do?

People were shouting, screaming, but he wasn't hearing them. _Please believe in me . . ._ it was a desperate plea, one that apparently had no basis in reality. Ace took only a moment to make a decision. He vaulted onto his horse, and galloped towards Elsa.

Her horse spun around with his, spurred onwards by instinct to remain in a herd. The two of them galloped side by side, out onto the snow covered streets of Arendelle.

* * *

Elsa had a thousand questions to ask, but she only asked one, "Why?"

"You might need to give me a bit more than that," Ace said, as the horses trotted side by side through the forest. It was dark, and seeing his face was difficult.

"Why did you stay with me?"

"You told me to believe in you," his answer was simple, and it threw Elsa for a moment.

"But . . . but you saw . . ." she stammered, half relieved that Ace wasn't labelling her a psychotic killer, half wondering what on earth was wrong with him to assume she was innocent when there was very compelling evidence suggesting otherwise.

"I saw a boy freeze to death," Ace said. His voice was harder than usual, and Elsa felt she was teetering on the edge of where Ace's loyalty ended. "I didn't see how he was struck. I did not witness the attack, and so I cannot draw conclusions."

Elsa edged her horse a bit further away from his, because everything she could see showed him hiding rage.

"You asked for my loyalty, and you have it."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I'm probably being an idiot."

She wished she could see his face, to see what shadows lurked in his eyes.

"I've seen what you can do," Ace continued. "I've seen you cornered before. I've seen you cover the country in snow. I've seen you create a snowstorm for a week. So far, all logic says that I must stay away from you. You're a monster, and you're dangerous."

"But you're still here." Elsa said. It sounded a bit like a question.

There was a long silence. Nothing could be heard, not a breath of wind, not the snow falling gently to the ground. Finally, Ace answered.

"Yes."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Well, now they know.

**I didn't really enjoy writing this, the conversation between Elsa and Anna was too hard, ugh. So if it seems a little flat, I know, it's me. But on the bright side, getting through it meant I can race on with the more exciting parts. Next chapter is more thrilling :-)**

"Everyone doubts you," Kagami observed, slipping and sliding around Elsa's mind.

She kept her jaw clenched shut, eyes looking ahead between the gently bobbing ears of her horse. _That's your fault._

"I don't think so. I made a perfectly reasonable request, and you refused. Those of us with magic need to help each other, don't you think?"

_What will happen to you, if you don't get my magic?_

"I'll grow weaker, of course. Much weaker. Without any magic I might even die."

_So . . . if I keep refusing you, I can get rid of you?_

"Perhaps. But don't forget, you will release your magic against your will when you reach your breaking point. I can get you there before I die, so I _will_ win. And even as I'm dying, I can always kill your sister and then I know you'll give me that magic."

_If you go near Anna, I'll-_

"You'll what?" Kagami almost laughed, and it annoyed Elsa that even her thoughts were interrupted by this magic cloud freak. "You'll use your magic, and then I can use it against you? Don't be an idiot, Elsa. There is no way for you to win this. I'll take what I need, and you can't stop me."

_I'm going to-_ Elsa stopped the thought, because Kagami had flashed away from her mind, and she was alone again. She blinked a few times, getting her focus turned outwards, and found Ace watching her curiously.

The sun was up again, spilling onto the frozen mountain side.

Elsa immediately looked down, breaking eye contact with him, because there was still burning blame in his eyes. She glanced away, checking where they were.

Bulda had not divulged the information on Anna's whereabouts very willingly, but obviously Elsa's repetitive begging had been good enough, because she had eventually described the place they had gone. Kristoff had found an abandoned cabin on the mountain side a few years ago, and he and Sven often stayed there. That was where he was taking Anna, and that's where Elsa and Ace were heading.

She hoped so, anyway, because she didn't know how much more of Ace's scrutiny she could handle. Since the sun had come up, he hadn't taken his eyes off her, watching her every move. She hadn't said a word all day, and neither had he, so she had no idea how he was feeling or what he was thinking.

She was noting different land marks from Bulda's description of the trail, and studying the sky, anything to keep her eyes busy and away from Ace.

"Queen Elsa?" He finally broke the silence.

Elsa let out a small sigh of relief, looking at him from the corner of her eye. He didn't sound angry.

"Are you alright?"

That was a question she didn't want to answer. Mostly because she had no idea what the answer was. She wasn't alright, not at all, but she couldn't say _why_ she wasn't alright. She would have to lie, and she was getting tired of doing that, and she didn't want to lie to Ace, because he was the only person in the world willing to listen to her right now. "I'll be fine."

Conversation dwindled again. Ace scrubbed a hand absently through his hair, and Elsa's gaze was drawn uneasily to the streak of white in his jet hair. He didn't know about it, of course, and she was hoping to keep it that way. Telling him about it would create too many questions that couldn't be answered.

The silence continued until Elsa spotted the little wooden cabin in the distance. It was sitting dangerously close to a cliff, and was patterned in snow and half hidden by trees. It looked very secluded.

Elsa could see Kristoff's sled parked outside, but there was no sign of him, Anna, or even Sven. She guessed they were inside. Ace and his horse hung back, and Elsa dismounted and went slowly towards the cabin.

She paused at the door, hand poised to knock, and wondered briefly if anyone would answer. Then she knocked firmly, three times, and waited to see what would happen. She could hear noises inside, whispering and moving, then she could hear Anna's slightly muffled shouting. "If that's Elsa, you can piss off!"

Elsa's first instinct was to reprimand her for her language, but she thought better of it. "Anna, I'm not leaving."

"I'm not opening the door."

"I can wait."

"Can you wait for thirteen years?"

Elsa bit her lower lip. There wasn't much she could say in response to that. She was still wondering what her next move should be when the door did actually open, revealing Anna wearing an expression of complete disdain.

"What?" she asked shortly.

"I need to talk to you."

"I think you've said everything, already. Why did you even come up here?"

"You followed me up a mountain," Elsa pointed out. "It seemed only fair that I do the same."

"I didn't want to be followed."

"Neither did I." While the conversation wasn't really helpful, Elsa noted with relief that Anna actually opened the door a bit wider. Elsa stepped back to give her some room, and hopefully draw her a bit closer.

Anna stepped outside, closing the door, and folding her arms. She continued to glare, but she was on the same side of the door as her sister, and Elsa was grateful for that.

She took a deep breath. "Anna . . ."

"Why?" Anna said flatly, the same question she had been asking for days and getting no answer to.

Elsa paused, thinking. "Why do you think I'm doing it?"

"Because you don't want me to be happy. Because you don't like Kristoff. Because . . . because . . . I don't know!" Anna threw her hands in the air, frustrated. "Just because!"

"Do you really think I would do that?" Elsa asked quietly, wondering just how much more hurt she could take before she was broken beyond repair.

"No!" Anna said, sounding equally annoyed with herself and her sister. "I don't, and that's why I'm so angry because WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!"

"To protect you. Just like before. Just like always."

"There's nothing to protect me _from_! I know about your powers, I _know_ why we couldn't be together for years, but that's over now. There's nothing else to shield me from, or keep me safe from. I can't understand why you're doing this." Anna was looking at the sky, eyebrows creased, trying to understand.

She wanted to believe Elsa, but there was a wildfire burning in her chest that just wanted to be told _why_. Was that so hard?

"Would you trust me if I said I had to, to keep you safe?" Elsa asked quietly.

"Safe from what?" Anna said dully, and Elsa realised that Anna was hurting just as much as she was.

"I can't tell you."

"See?" There was a touch of anger in her voice again. "That's the problem! That's why I can't trust that you're right about this. Because you said . . ." Anna gulped, and continued more subdued. "You said there were no more secrets between us." The accusing look in Anna's eyes added, _you betrayed me._

"I do have a secret," Elsa admitted. "But I'm not keeping it from you to hurt you . . ."

"What could be so bad that you can't trust me with it?"

"Nothing you could imagine," Elsa said.

Anna crossed her arms, her bottom lip trembling, and stayed stubbornly silent, largely because if she tried to speak again she was going to burst into tears.

Elsa was breathing slightly easier, because she felt like Anna was coming back to her side. _Yes, yes!_ She was going to have her sister back. Anna was going to forgive her, and then Elsa would be able to figure out what to do with Kagami, with Anna safe and sound and at her side. And-

Anna spotted Ace, and raised a questioning eyebrow. "You dragged him all the way here?"

"He chose to come," Elsa said, dismissively, still thrilled that Anna was willing to talk.

Anna shrugged. "Whatever." She studied Ace a little closer, then shouted to him, "Interesting new hairstyle."

Ace's hand went self-consciously to his hair, and he looked baffled. "What?"

There was a sudden tenseness in Elsa's posture, which Anna noticed instantly, and pieced everything together much faster than Elsa had hoped. Her eyes widened, and she said disbelievingly, "Whoa-ho-ho, you don't know about it?"

"Know about what?" Ace asked.

Anna turned her look to Elsa, who was standing tense and stiff, then back to Ace. "Might want to take a look in the mirror. There's a white streak in your hair and I wonder how it got there?"

"Anna," Elsa said warningly. "Don't say anything."

"She froze your mind, didn't she?" Anna continued, and Ace looked even more confused. "Are there any parts of the last few days that you can't remember? Any missing memories?"

The confusion on Ace's face gave way to understanding, and he turned his new look of enlightenment towards Elsa.

"You froze his mind?" Anna asked. All the tension that had melted away came rushing back, and the guarded look returned to Anna's eyes. "Really? Why?"

"I didn't," Elsa said tightly. "You have to believe me."

"Oh, I'd like to." Her voice was hurt and disbelieving. Anna took a step backwards, one hand on the door handle. "But there is no one else who could have done it."

"You _have_ to believe it's not me," Elsa pleaded. "Please."

The door was open again, Anna was disappearing into it. She did not sound defiant; she sounded like a wounded child. "Make me believe it."

Then Elsa took a step back as Anna slammed the door, hard, and she brought the fingers of one hand up to her lips, nervously. She could feel Ace's eyes on her; there was a question in them burning into her.

He watched her for the rest of the day, but never said a word. When she remounted her horse and rode a bit further up the mountain, he was silent. When she dismounted and sat in the snow in a depressed ball he just sat down by himself, keeping distance between them but never once taking his eyes of her.

The sun had moved, signalling the afternoon, when Kagami brushed gently into Elsa's mind and asked, "Do you think he's smart enough to figure it out twice?"

Elsa managed to keep her thoughts completely blank, fixing her eyes onto the snow and thinking, over and over again, _conceal, don't feel._

"I think he's very stupid. Why would he still be here if he wasn't?"

_Don't feel, don't feel, don't feel._

"Oh, look. He's standing up. Will he run away?"

Elsa's head snapped up, startled to find Ace approaching her. She shrunk away from him, unsure of what he was planning, but he just came to her side, and sat down, hands linked together and elbows resting on his knees. He faced the same way she was facing, studying the same patch of ground she had been looking at.

Kagami flitted away again, and Elsa felt a tiny bit of tension leave her shoulders.

"So," Ace said, raising his head and watching the sky. "What is it?"

"What is what?"

"The thing you keep talking to. The thing that makes you stop. The thing that makes you tense. The thing that's clearly causing all of this."

Elsa could feel her heart beat increasing, in sheer delight that Ace was giving her a second chance, was _understanding_ her again.

"I've been watching you," Ace said, and Elsa just nodded, hoping he would keep going. "I know there's something else around you, something that I cannot see. What is it?"

"I can't tell you."

"Of course not. Does it take control of you? Is it the one using your powers?"

"No, it's not like that. It doesn't actually take over my mind, it just . . . talks to me."

"And makes you do these things?"

"No. It has some of my magic. It uses whatever I've used on it." Elsa clamped her mouth shut, afraid that she had said too much. She waited for Kagami to appear, to do something unspeakable to Ace . . . but nothing happened.

Ace nodded. "Makes sense. So, I supposed it told you-"

"Kagami."

"What?"

"His name is Kagami."

Ace frowned. "Wait . . . does he look like a dragon?"

"Yes?"

"I know him." Ace stood up, brushing snow from his clothes. "Anna's in danger."

"I know." Elsa got to her feet much more slowly. "But . . . how do you?"

Ace caught both horses, and led them back to Elsa. "Do you remember my brother?"

Elsa tensed again, because the last time she had seen Ace's brother he had been skewered by her magic, and she couldn't help the snowflakes that started forming around her.

"Whoa, calm down," Ace said, holding up one hand in a placating manner. "I'm not trying to make you feel bad; I just want you to understand. My brother worked for the Duke of Weselton."

"I remember." Elsa got onto her horse.

"Did you ever wonder why the Duke is so afraid of magic?"

Flashes of Elsa's coronation sped through her mind, of the Duke's insistent accusations that she was a monster, an evil sorceress. "No, I suppose I didn't."

"Kagami's attacked in Weselton before," Ace explained, as the horses trotted through the thick snow towards Kristoff's cabin. "He took the magic from someone, I still don't know who, and then used it against us. He reflects the powers he takes from people." Ace paused. "Oh."

"What?" Elsa questioned.

"He froze my mind," Ace realised. "Not you."

Elsa's relief was nearly overwhelming. "Yes," she breathed.

"How much magic have you used against him? He can do anything you can do. And how did it even get to this point?"

Elsa didn't answer; she was too ashamed to even try. This is all her fault, and she'd been repeating that to herself for days now. She looked down at her horse, eyes lidded and unhappy.

"We'll figure this out," Ace says reassuringly. "Just gotta explain everything to Anna." He looked like he was going to add something when both horses suddenly ploughed to a halt, snorting nervously.

There was an inky shadow forming in front of them, and Elsa felt her chest tighten.

Ace shifted his horse in front of Elsa's, blocking her off from Kagami.

The magic cloud formed, a snarling, hairy dragon with fangs bared. He was growling, clearly angry, his fury pointed at them both.

Elsa swallowed hard, but Ace held his horse in place. He whispered, just loud enough for her to hear. "Get around me and go to Anna."

Elsa shook her head. "No, I can't, because if I tell her-"

"Then stay back and I'll deal with him," Ace said, keeping his eyes on the menacing form in front of them.

Elsa had been certain that Kagami was smaller the last time he had been in his solid form; now his scaly shoulders were almost at the same height as both horses. She could feel herself shaking, because she had seen enough of Kagami's magic by now to know that he was ruthless, and powerful.

"Oh, Elsa," Kagami purred, his voice reverberating around them. "You just don't get it, do you? I'll never leave you alone until you give me what I want. And you won't give it until you're at your lowest point. How will we ever get there if you keep finding ways to make yourself happy?"

"I'm not happy," she mumbled.

Kagami sighed, his breath a purple haze. "That's what I was hoping. But this boy keeps interfering." He turned his empty, hollow eye to Ace.

Ace was staring at him, dark eyes narrowed, and Elsa recognised the look. It was the same look he used when getting information from people, and animals, without them saying a word. Ace was searching Kagami for some sort of weakness, for some clue as to what the magical creature was thinking and feeling.

"Don't hurt him," Elsa shouted, and she was clenching her hands, hard, because using her magic would be the worst thing right now.

Kagami loomed closer, then Elsa saw Ace's hand move. He reached behind his saddle, she didn't see exactly what he did, but his horse suddenly squealed in pain, and kicked out hard with both hind legs. Its hooves connected with Kagami's lower jaw, there was a sound like a branch cracking, then both horses were galloping again, and Elsa could hear the indignant roar of Kagami.

She hazarded a glance over her shoulder, and saw the dragon shaking his head, still solid. That was strange, usually Kagami vanished into his vapour form whenever he was hurt. "What did you do?"

"Not the time to explain," Ace said abruptly. "Keep going."

They had only a few seconds of silence, then Kagami reappeared before them, looming even larger than before.

Elsa nearly pitched over her horse's head as it swerved in alarm, but she managed to stay on its back.

Ace dismounted, and Elsa saw a short knife flash in his hand.

"What are you doing?" she asked, sounding panicked.

"Go head," Ace shouted. "I'll take him on."

"He'll kill you," Elsa said desperately.

"No, he won't," Ace said confidently, looking the magical beast in the eyes. Kagami huffed, taking half a step towards Ace. "Not if you aren't here."

Elsa's face must have portrayed her confusion, because Ace continued.

"Absolute despair. Desperation. Breaking pint," Ace reminded her. "That's where he wants you, and the only way to get that, is if he kills me right in front of you. He won't kill me unless you can see it."

Kagami chuckled, a low, throaty sound. "He's right. It wouldn't be worth it."

"Go," Ace snapped.

Elsa let out a frustrated sound, but she urged her horse forwards anyway.

Kagami turned his head to watch them go, and as he turned Ace jabbed his knife forward, aiming for one of the black hollows of Kagami's eyes.

**Sorry for any mistakes, I was just annoyed by this chapter and didn't check it as often as I usually do.**

**SpicedGold**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – Explanations

**Short chapter again – sorry. It's school holidays over here so my work has literally doubled. I'll try update tomorrow again to make up for it, but I've got to put a little more energy into work than into Frozen Fanfiction.**

Elsa heard the roar of pain, but didn't look over her shoulder.

She could see the cabin again; it was still half hidden by trees, but clearly there. She could reach it safely, she was sure. She glanced back to see if Kagami was following, or even visible, and this time when her horse swerved she did not stay on.

Elsa hit the snow head first and tumbled onto her back. She lay where she was, slightly dazed, staring at the sky and the snow clouds that were starting to gather. She felt Kagami slide into her head, which meant that he couldn't be with Ace anymore. That was both a relief and terrifying.

"I think we should speed this up," Kagami murmured, his voice lapping gently. "I'm tired of you always making yourself feel better."

He left her mind, and Elsa managed to sit up, blinking rapidly because that blow to the head had been harder than she thought, and her thoughts were scattered.

Kagami was solid again, sitting in front of her like an obedient puppy, small and innocent.

"Wh . . . what are you going to do?" she asked, feeling snow starting to fall around them.

"My name means mirror," the magic whispered. "That's my original power, and it's the one I use when things need a push." The creature started morphing, changing shape.

Elsa stared in horror as the thing before her slowly distorted, taking on a very familiar shape. She felt her heart pound as blue eyes formed and stared back at her, and beautiful blonde hair sprouted into a loose braid, and an immaculate dress of ice took shape.

Elsa was staring at herself, an exact, flawless copy.

Kagami stood up, face expressionless. "Which of us will get to Anna first?"

Elsa felt a chill run down her spine, because the creature sounded exactly like her.

"I think I know," Kagami said, raising a slender pale hand.

Elsa gasped, and the pointed beam of ice she had first used against Kagami sprouted from her doppelganger's hand and flew directly towards her. She snapped her eyes closed, turning her head away instinctively. She felt her own ice springing up around her, and by the time she opened her eyes again Kagami was gone, whisked away on a wind.

Elsa got shakily to her feet, eyes locked onto the cabin in the distance, obscured by the snowstorm, and started running.

* * *

Ace felt the questioning breath of a horse. He opened his eyes slowly, seeing snow and a black nostril. The horse snorted again, wondering why Ace was lying so still, with the knife still clutched in his hand.

His fight with Kagami had been much briefer than he had anticipated. When he had stabbed the creature in the eye, Kagami had spun around, and his tail had hit Ace hard in the head. Ace supposed that was where the fight had ended, because the next thing he could remember was this moment now: with a horse and a headache.

He got to his knees, carefully, looking around. There was a light snow storm brewing, not strong enough to be any cause for alarm, but hard enough to let him know that Elsa was obviously unhappy.

Ace hooked an arm over his horse's neck to help pull himself to his feet. He clambered unsteadily into the saddle, and turned to follow Elsa.

* * *

Anna was sitting moodily inside the cabin, watching the snow fall. Her arms were folded on the windowsill, her chin resting on them.

"You okay?" Kristoff asked, pausing behind her for a moment.

"I guess," Anna muttered. "I wish I knew what Elsa was thinking."

"You could ask her."

"No, I can't. I don't even know where she is anymore." There was a crack in Anna's voice, because no matter how angry she was at Elsa, the thought of shutting her sister out was painful.

"She's right there." Kristoff turned Anna's head slightly, so that she could see someone approaching the cabin.

"Oh." Anna said. "So she is."

Elsa was running, looking panicked.

"I wonder what her problem is." Anna got to her feet.

"I thought you were mad at her?"

"I am. But she's my sister." Anna made it sound like that explained everything, and while Kristoff knew exactly what she meant, it wasn't her most articulate thought. She burst out of the cabin door, Kristoff close behind her. "Elsa! What's wrong?"

"Anna, get inside," Elsa sounded desperate.

"What's going on?" Anna asked, looking searchingly at Elsa.

Elsa took a deep breath. "Just get inside, and don't interrupt me."

Kristoff backed into the cabin again, giving them space.

Anna was silent for once, guiding Elsa inside and slamming the door.

"I had to cancel your wedding because there was a strange, magic . . . I don't know, _thing_," Elsa started, talking in a rush. "And if I told you what was going on it said it was going to kill you, so I kept quiet, but now it's coming after you anyway."

"Oh," Kristoff said. "That actually makes a lot of sense." Being raised by magic trolls apparently makes you very tolerant towards obscure theories about magic.

"What do we do?" Anna asked.

"I don't know," Elsa admitted. "But you have to stay close to me. The thing . . . it can use its magic to change its shape. It could turn into me, or you, or anyone."

Anna and Kristoff immediately stepped closer together, trading suspicious glances.

Kristoff frowned out of the window, at the snowstorm getting progressively stronger. It felt familiar, and he could see someone else approaching the cabin, battling the wind. The feeling in his stomach was the same one he'd had the day he took Anna back to the castle to Hans, and saw the blizzard surrounding Arendelle. He might not know a lot, but he knew that this particular blizzard was Elsa's 'Anna's in danger let's panic' blizzard.

He looked at Anna, standing possessively at Elsa's side, watching the snow, and at Elsa, still breathing hard with her panicked gaze darting back and forth between Anna and the blizzard.

He moved into the next room, because he had something he really, really needed to do.

Anna's mind was going a million miles an hour. She was piecing things together, finally having the missing parts of the puzzle. She finally had the _why_: why Elsa had cancelled the wedding, why Elsa had never given a reason, why Elsa had been so heartbroken when Anna had turned her back on her.

And Anna was silently berating herself, because it was just like Elsa to put Anna's life and happiness above her own. After all, that was what Elsa had been doing her whole life. Why had Anna ever assumed she would be doing something different now?

Anna's musing was interrupted by the sight of someone else approaching the cabin through the snowstorm, and Anna's heart seized for a moment when she recognised Elsa. And that didn't make a whole lot of sense, because Elsa was right _here_, at her side, very real and very cold, just like she should be.

Elsa stiffened. "He's coming."

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna-" Anna spluttered, storming to the cabin door and throwing it open. "Hey! Stay away from my sister-"

"Anna," Elsa darted in front of her, putting herself between Anna and the other Elsa. "Stay behind me."

The second Elsa saw them, standing together, and stopped dead.

Anna peered hesitantly into the snow, wondering what was going to happen next. She was studying the second Elsa for any indications that she was a copy. But so far, both of them looked identical and Anna felt a faint flicker of doubt. How did she know that her Elsa was the real one?

"Get away from my sister," the second Elsa shouted, struggling to be heard over the snowstorm.

"She's not _your_ sister," Anna's Elsa shouted back. "If you take another step closer, I'll freeze you."

Anna was undoubtedly going to list this as the weirdest day of her life, and until this point she had had a very varied list. The storm died down slightly, making conversation and keeping one's eyes open much easier. Anna's attention was caught by a horse and rider galloping towards them.

_Ace!_ Anna thought delightedly.

He drew his horse to a halt, blinking from one Elsa to the other. He sounded hesitant, "Which is which?"

"This one's mine," Anna said, pointing to the Elsa standing slightly in front of her.

"No, he's not!" the second Elsa snapped, and she sounded exasperated. "Anna, _please_, I'm the real me. Get away from him."

Anna looked slightly more confused, and seemed to be deciding whether or not to run. Did she stay where she was or . . .? She had no idea what to do next. "I . . ."

"Anna," the second Elsa stepped closer, and Anna's Elsa immediately fired a bolt of ice towards her. Anna's short lived hope that this was obviously Elsa, because no one else could use ice powers, was instantly crushed as the second Elsa conjured her own flurry of ice to knock the first one aside.

"Oh, boy," Anna breathed.

"Ask something only the real Elsa would know," Ace suggested urgently.

_No, please,_ Elsa thought. _Anna, he can read my mind that won't work._

"I . . ." Anna was at a loss for words.

Kristoff appeared in the doorway, armed with an ice pick. "Anna, get over here. Both of you . . . get where I can see you. Now." He raised the pick menacingly.

Elsa took a cautious step away from Anna, hands clasping together uncertainly, in a way that was so achingly familiar to Anna that she wanted to fling her arms around her and scream, _Yes! This is my sister!_

Kristoff kept his pick raised, looking from one Elsa to the other. He hadn't really planned any further than this.

Ace had. "Elsa!"

Both of them snapped their heads towards him, and he drew his hand back, holding his little knife. He took aim, and threw. The blade spun, arcing through the air and moving at a lethal speed, directly towards Anna.

Kristoff tried to grab her and pull her aside, but before he could a sheet of ice sprang up protectively in front of her, and the knife blade knocked harmlessly into it. Kristoff looked up, because there was only one Elsa with both arms raised in an automatic attempt to save her sister.

Anna's Elsa had not moved, but suddenly realised its mistake. It vanished in a swirl of purple and snowflakes.

"Elsa," Kagami purred into her mind. "This is not over yet." Then he was gone, and Elsa was suddenly aware of her pulse roaring in her ears, and her hands trembling. She lowered them slowly, and the storm lowered around her.

"Elsa!" Anna barrelled into her, sending both of them sprawling into the snow.

Kristoff looked incredulously at Ace. "That wasn't safe."

"I know. That was the point." Ace dismounted his horse. "We need to get them both inside. I'll explain everything."

"Good. Because an explanation would really be great right now."

**I know, it's too short. Bear with me, I have a job that fluctuates in intensity based on the time of year.**

**SpicedGold**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – This is Breaking Point

**I had the most fun ever last night! I downloaded a to-do list app and spent hours organizing things and making lists. I even added 'update fanfic' to one of my lists. :-D And writing that has made me realise that my idea of fun is making lists . . . I'll just give you this chapter and then reflect on the dismal turn my life has taken.**

"Kagami harvests magic from other magic users," Ace explained, mostly to Kristoff who was leaning against the wooden armchair with his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised. "He cannot take it unless the wielder gives it up. The only other way to take magic is to get the wielder to use it in whatever state makes it strongest."

"What on earth do you mean?" Kristoff asked.

"If you had ice cutting powers," Ace explained. "He could take your magic when you were completely consumed by your work and the only thing on your mind is cutting ice. With Queen Elsa, her magic is at its strongest when she _isn't_."

"I get it," Kristoff nodded. "The more upset Elsa gets, the stronger her magic gets."

"Exactly. And the only way Kagami could think of to get her to that point, of complete despair, was to target Princess Anna."

"So he told Elsa to cancel the wedding or he'd kill Anna," Kristoff added thoughtfully. He made a considering face. "That's actually a very good idea."

"Hey," Anna snapped.

"I don't mean he should have done it," Kristoff corrected hastily. "I just mean that if he wanted to make Elsa flip out, that's the most effective way to do it."

"I'm still here," Elsa pointed out, slightly offended that everyone was discussing her like some sort of mental patient. She and Anna had wedged themselves into the biggest chair in the tiny cabin, sitting half on top of each other. Elsa was delighted to finally have Anna back on her side again, and would put up with any shoulder squishing and hip crushing to keep it that way.

Anna was sitting mostly on top of Elsa, in a misguided attempt to keep her safe. She was mortified that she hadn't been able to tell the difference between her sister and Kagami, and was now determined to stay as close to Elsa as possible and never, ever make the same mistake again. And there was the crushing feeling of guilt for being so self-absorbed that she never even suspected Elsa was hurting just as much as she was. Anna felt like she needed to beat her head against a wall in repentance, but for now was content with sitting on her sister and hoping her need for forgiveness would transmit through osmosis.

"Apparently, I threw a spanner in the works," Ace chuckled. "Kagami thought I was lifting Queen Elsa's spirits too much."

"Thank you for that," Elsa said softly.

"So, what's he going to do now?" Kristoff asked, looking from Ace to Elsa.

"I have no idea," Ace admitted. "I assume he'll come back."

"He can't do anything if we just keep Elsa happy, right?" Anna asked.

"Doesn't quite work like that," Elsa sighed. "Besides, we have to go back to Arendelle. There are two hundred guests there and two frozen people. I've got a lot of explaining to get done."

"If you go back to Arendelle, he'll follow you there and make things worse," Ace pointed out.

"So what do you suggest?" Anna asked.

Ace thought for a moment. "I would stay here, and figure out how to defeat him."

"Destroying magic?" Kristoff shrugged. "Grand Pappie might know."

At Ace's blank look, he elaborated, "He's a troll."

At Ace's even blanker look, he added. "You obviously haven't met a troll before."

"I'm a vet for normal animals," Ace said. "Not the stuff of legends."

Kristoff grinned. "Come with me, then. Come and meet them."

"Really?" Ace was half way out of his seat already. "I'd love to."

"You'd be fine here, on your own?" Kristoff asked Anna.

She nodded, still mostly obscuring Elsa from anyone else. "Yup."

"We'll be quick," Kristoff promised. "Stay inside and, well, stay safe."

When they had left, Anna pried herself off her sister, to take a seat opposite her and fix her with a quizzical gaze.

Elsa was still worried, eyebrows drawn together and twisting her hands together.

"He was going to kill me if you didn't cancel the wedding?" Anna questioned, her voice mostly curious.

Elsa nodded.

"That would explain why you couldn't tell me." Anna nodded to herself, pleased to have one mystery solved. "Are you okay?"

Elsa was sitting in a huddle, staring at her lap and generally looking dejected. She sighed. "I'm so sorry, Anna. I just didn't know what to do. I never wanted to hurt you."

"You don't have to say you're sorry. I should be the one apologizing. Like, a lot," Anna bit her lip. "More than a lot. I was really selfish, but I just . . . I guess I was too busy being angry at you to consider _why_ you would be doing something like this. I was an idiot, and you don't have to forgive me. I screwed up. I should have trusted you. I never guessed it was something like this . . . I just thought you were being selfish. And that was wrong of me." Anna looked apologetic, her eyes endearing and full of pain.

Elsa didn't say anything.

"So, what happens now?" Anna asked.

"Hm?"

"Well, is this thing going to come after me? You weren't supposed to tell."

"I didn't. He did."

"Right," Anna winced. She was not having a good day of being sisterly. "Sorry about that, too. I should have known which you was, well, _you_."

"Don't blame yourself." Elsa let her eyes slide closed.

"Are you tired?"

"Yes. I haven't slept well, and everything's been so out of control . . . But I can't sleep now, I've got to watch you, and keep you safe."

"Come with me." Anna stood up, and offered a hand to Elsa. She took it hesitantly, wondering what Anna was planning. Anna led her into the second room of the cabin, which was even smaller. It had a bed in it, though, with a variety of soft blankets. "I'll stay right here. At least I can do something right today." That last sentence had been small and broken, weighted by guilt.

Elsa still hesitated. "What if he comes back?"

"I'll wake you up if anything changes," Anna promised. "Anything at all. Now to go sleep." She pushed Elsa firmly onto the bed, then onto her back and crawled up next to her. Anna snuggled into Elsa's shoulder, one arm around her waist, and closed her eyes. "See. Everything will be fine."

"Don't fall asleep," Elsa warned.

"I won't." Anna smiled as Elsa closed her eyes. She wasn't tired, just upset with herself, but Elsa clearly was. Anna could see the window from where she was lying, and she watched the snowflakes falling. They became gentler as Elsa drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Anna was sitting up, back against the wall, fiddling with Elsa's hair when she first felt the air in the room moving. She looked around, but saw nothing amiss.

Elsa was still sleeping, occasionally shifting when Anna was just a bit too rough in her braiding and un-braiding. Anna shrugged it off as nothing.

Then the floorboards creaked, and when Anna looked up again there was a small, lithe, weasel-like dragon watching her. She jerked back slightly, alarmed, and was about to shake Elsa by the shoulder when Kagami shook his head.

"Don't wake her," he said softly. "She's very tired."

"I know." Anna's voice was trembling slightly.

Kagami did not come any closer. He looked harmless, just standing there with a flickering tail and empty eyes. "She was going to protect you. She would do anything for you."

"I know," Anna said again, her voice wavering even more.

"She would even give me her magic." Kagami tilted his head to one side. "Do you know how I'll take it?"

"Sh-she said she's just gotta be upset," Anna stammered, heart pounding. Should she wake Elsa?

"A bit more than just upset." The magic padded softly towards them. He rested his front legs on the edge of the bed, watching Elsa.

Anna stayed perfectly still.

"Once I have her magic, I'll leave her alone. Everything will go back to the way it was. Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Yes," Anna agreed tentatively.

"But how are we going to get the magic out of her?" Kagami sounded puzzled. "She's so good at keeping it locked away. I have an idea."

Anna felt her skin crawl at his words.

"I could freeze you. That would certainly do the trick."

His words were doing a good enough job of it already, Anna could feel herself going cold with fear.

"But I said I would only kill you if she told you about me. She didn't do that, and I would never lie to her."

Anna wouldn't say she was relieved, exactly, but she felt a glimmer of hope. Until Kagami spoke again.

"Then again . . . if you don't actually die . . . I'm not a liar."

* * *

Elsa was jolted awake by a sudden, heart stopping scream of terror.

* * *

"I have to ask," Kristoff said as reindeer and horse walked calmly side by side back up the mountain. "I've seen in you in action and I know you're an excellent vet."

"I didn't hear a question," Ace said mildly, scratching his horse absently on the neck.

"You don't look any older than me. Seriously, are you a wizard or something?"

Ace laughed. "No, I'm not. My family are quite important, and as such I had a private tutor. I started studying to be a vet when I turned fourteen. It's all I wanted to do."

"And you're, what, twenty five?"

"Twenty four," Ace corrected with a smile.

"Oh. Well, at least I know now."

"And you?" Ace asked. "You said those trolls were your family. How does an ice harvester raised by rocks end up marrying a princess?"

"It's a very long story . . . but mostly by coincidence." Kristoff grinned.

Ace was easy to talk to, and they had nattered the whole journey to the trolls, kept quiet long enough to hear what Grand Pappie had to say, and had started nattering again on the trip back.

"Sven is looking really good," Ace said. "Very fit and healthy. You're still taking good care of him, I see."

"And I always will. He's my best friend. You take care of your friends."

"What about that little snowman? Is he still around?"

"Oh, yes. Olaf is still around; he kinda just goes wherever he wants." Kristoff chuckled. "Everyone's used to him now. He used to cause quite a stir running through town."

"I can imagine."

Sven snorted, and started jogging.

"What's the hurry, buddy?" Kristoff asked.

"It is snowing a bit harder," Ace observed. "Perhaps we should pick up the pace."

"We've only been gone a few hours. How much trouble could they possibly be in?"

* * *

There was a pressure building up inside Elsa, a fierce combination of fear and panic and protectiveness. It threatened to burst out of her in an uncontrollable storm, but she kept it in because if she let it go now, without any rhyme or reason, it would be impossible to avoid Anna.

But the ice inside her was persistent and Elsa was terrified that she wouldn't be able to hold it back anymore.

The cabin was freezing over, slowly, against her will, in jagged icy spikes that reflected Elsa's anxiety, because she had woken to the sight of Kagami pinning Anna against the wall with several long, sharp icicles holding her immobile.

In a split second Elsa had been on her feet, but Kagami's tone had stunned her into staying still.

"Move again and I'll spear her."

He was almost impossible to hear over the pounding of her heart, there was an aching fear ripping through Elsa's chest. She heard herself whimper, unsure of what to do now.

Anna had not calmed down, but she had stopped screaming. She was pressed rigidly against the wall, and Elsa could see the tips of the ice spikes pressing into her skin, and she knew that it must hurt. Anna's eyes were wide and wild, fixed pleadingly onto Elsa in the childish hope that she could do something.

"Kagami," Elsa breathed. "Don't."

"That's what I was looking for," Kagami purred, and the windows shook from the force of the snowstorm raging outside. "Think how much time we could have saved if I had just come after her first."

Elsa's hands flexed instinctively, but Kagami growled.

"I wouldn't use your magic unless you want her dead. If so much as a snowflake appears I will drive these icicles right through her. Did you forget: complete despair, utter desperation, your breaking point? Give me that, and I will give her back to you."

Elsa was rapidly approaching it; the walls and floor of the cabin were nearly completely coated in tiny pebbles of ice, the patterns jagged and discordant. Elsa felt herself shaking, as Anna squeaked as the icicles pressed a bit harder against her, their points sharp. Elsa was breathing too fast, too shallowly; she wasn't going to be able to control her magic for very much longer.

Anna whimpered again, and her breathing was turning into painful little sobs.

Elsa didn't know where 'breaking point' was but she had a feeling she was almost there, and as soon as she finished that thought Kagami's empty eyes narrowed.

There was a faint, but sickening, 'pop' of pointed ice breaking through skin, followed by an immediate scream of pain, and then Elsa had no idea what happened next.

There was a powerful wave of ice, blasting from every part of her body without warning and without control. Kagami had already moved, flashing incredibly fast around the room, changing instantly from solid form into a cloud, and Elsa's magic was being absorbed into him. Within seconds, the room was completely free of ice; there was no trace of it anywhere.

Kagami was gone, leaving Anna in the same position, still breathing in sobs, tense and bleeding, and Elsa collapsing onto her knees.

She was exhausted, completely drained of all energy, and she could feel herself trembling violently.

Anna managed to move first, biting back a painful gasp as she stepped across the floor towards Elsa. The wounds dotting her body were shallow, but aching and bleeding, and Anna was slightly dizzy from adrenaline.

Elsa's skin was freezing, Anna discovered when she put a hand on her shoulder, but she jerked her head up, blue eyes brimming with tears.

"I'm okay," Anna said haltingly, because she wasn't really sure if she was or wasn't. Everywhere the ice had touched her was cold and uncomfortable.

Elsa reached a shaking hand towards Anna's arm, taking hold of her wrist and inspecting the shallow wounds. "It's my fault . . ."

"Please don't say that," Anna whispered. "It was all him. But he's gone now. Right?"

Elsa got unsteadily to her feet. _Kagami? Are you still here?_

There was no reply, no whisper through her thoughts.

"I think so." Elsa wiped her eyes. She leaned on Anna slightly, her knees still weak. "Did my magic hurt you?"

"It never touched me," Anna said proudly. She and Elsa jumped as the cabin door was flung open and Kristoff barged in, looking worried.

"Anna! Are you okay? Why are you bleeding?"

Anna rubbed at one of the marks on her arm. "I'll explain on the way. Can we please just go home?"

Kristoff looked from one sister to the other, Anna was decorated in several small bleeding wounds, Elsa was shaking and staring at the floor.

"Um, yeah," he said, wondering what had happened. "Home sounds . . . good."

**I'm gonna make some more lists . . . Don't judge me.**

**SpicedGold**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – The World Makes Sense Again

**Clearing something up quick – yes, Elsa still has her powers. I'm not **_**that**_** mean. Also, the next week is going to be beyond busy for me, and while I'll do my best to update every two days I might not have time. Work actually gives me money, fanfiction does not. Priorities, okay?**

After everything Elsa had been through, you would think public speaking wouldn't be very high up on her list of things that bothered her. But it was, and she was reminding herself of that at this very moment.

"You just unfroze everything," Anna mumbled, standing at her side and giving her a look. "Let's not freeze it again."

The ballroom wasn't quite large enough for Anna's extensive guest list to fit into, but most of the people were there, and Elsa had already assigned several servants to pass on what she was saying to Arendelle and the overflow.

Kai was standing at the front of the crowd, and he did not look amused. Elsa had already apologised to him, more than once, for running away, and leaving him in charge of everything, and for freezing Arendelle, but he hadn't yet forgiven her for leaving him, _again_, stuck in a freezing castle with the Duke of Weselton.

Elsa sent him another apologetic look now, mentally telling him that he was heading to one heck of a Christmas bonus.

Elsa cleared her throat. "Thank you all for coming. I've got a few things to say. First of all, the wedding will continue on schedule."

"Third time's the charm," Hans muttered from several rows back.

Elsa narrowed her eyes at him. "Secondly, I'm very sorry for the weather in the last few days. It's all under control now. I understand that everyone probably has a lot of questions, mostly about me, but I'm asking that you listen to my explanation and then please focus on Princess Anna for the next few days. After her wedding, we can address any problems anyone still has, or any lasting ramifications from the sudden snow."

Anna nodded brightly, delighted to have all attention back on her.

Elsa explained in a rush, "A magic being took some of my powers from me, and was using them to manipulate me into cancelling the wedding. That's what caused all of this, but the magic creature has gone now and everything can go back to normal. We will proceed on schedule, with the wedding ceremony taking place tomorrow, as planned."

"Yay," Anna squealed. "Back to normal!"

There was a lot of murmuring throughout the crowd, which Elsa ignored. She had said her part, and everything was about Anna again. She stepped towards Kai.

"Sorry I keep doing this to you," she whispered. "I really appreciate you holding the fort whenever I'm gone."

"Let's try not to do it again," Kai said.

"Can we start the ball now?" Anna asked, bouncing up at Elsa elbow. "We're a day behind."

"Of course," Elsa smiled.

"I'll get everything organised," Kai said, bowing briefly and turning away from them.

"How are you feeling?" Elsa asked, now that the attention was off them and she could finally focus on her sister again.

Anna shrugged. "A little sore in places, but I'll be fine." She rubbed at the scabs on her arm absently. "Some of them itch a bit, but I won't scratch them now. I don't want to look even worse tomorrow."

Kristoff joined them, looking relieved that the whole 'cancelling' thing was over. He smiled gratefully at Elsa. "Thanks for putting everything back on track."

"I'm sorry things got off track in the first place."

"Not your fault."

There was music playing now, and Anna was tugging at Kristoff's arm. "Come on, we're missing it."

"Please don't make me dance," Kristoff said, making a face.

Elsa hid a smile behind her hand. "I'll go, and . . . be somewhere else."

"I'm gonna get you to dance, too," Anna shouted as Elsa escaped into the crowd. "I'm going to start a traditional sister dance!"

Elsa weaved through the people to get away from Anna's enthusiasm, but she was smiling. She was pleased Anna had slipped back into her normal, bubbly self despite everything that had happened. Elsa was still a little unsettled by Kagami, but since the incident in the cabin, there had not been a whisper from him. She was getting used to the idea that he was truly gone.

* * *

"Ace?" Elsa cornered him as he was leaving the castle.

He offered her a smile, his bag over one shoulder. "Queen Elsa. I was just leaving."

"I know. I wanted ask you if you wanted to stay a few more days."

"That's nice of you to offer, but I shouldn't-"

"Please? I would still be in this mess if it wasn't for you. Just stay until after the wedding. I know Anna would love to have you there." She was staring at the floor. "I'd like it, too."

"Well, I can't disappoint the Queen and Princess," Ace reasoned. "Just 'til after the wedding, though. I'm needed around Arendelle."

"There's a ball, upstairs. If you want to join in." Elsa twisted her hands together nervously.

"Do you want to dance?" Ace offered.

"Definitely not," Elsa said quickly.

"Oh, phew," Ace actually looked relieved. "I hate dancing."

"Me too. But Anna's going to insist that I do, and I really don't want to."

"Have you thought of avoiding her?"

"That's nearly impossible." Then Elsa looked thoughtful. "Have you ever seen the gardens? The decorations for the wedding are all up. It looks amazing."

Ace's smile was soft. "You'll have to show me."

* * *

"Where's Elsa?" Anna asked much later in the evening, frowning and looking around the room.

"No idea," Kristoff replied, gently swaying her back and forth. He was pretty much asleep on his feet, but Anna insisted they had to keep dancing.

"Last night of being single," she had whispered. "You can't sleep it away."

"She's been gone for hours," Anna moaned. "Why isn't she here? Where could she be?"

Kristoff didn't want to say anything, but he thought Anna might have had just a bit too much chocolate fondue. And chocolate. And champagne. She had been buzzing all over the place the whole night, and he was really struggling to keep up with her. "It must be time for bed, soon."

"Kai," Anna dragged Kristoff over to the old man. "Have you seen Elsa?"

"She was in the gardens," Kai replied. He looked at Kristoff. "Princess Anna, don't you think you need to start winding down for the night? Your husband-to-be seems a little exhausted."

"Okay, sure, we've just got to find Elsa first. Thanks Kai," Anna shouted over her shoulder as she dragged Kristoff towards the window. He sighed.

Anna bounced onto the balcony, looking down into the gardens. "Aha! I can see her! Wait . . . is she . . .? Wow!"

* * *

Elsa was dancing. Not very well, not very confidently, but she was still dancing.

The music from the ball was spilling into the gardens, the moon was lighting everything around them. Ace knew she was nervous; every now and again he would meet her worried blue eyes with his dark ones. And he would smile gently, staying quiet even when frost ghosted across his fingers where her hand was in his.

"Not so bad, huh?" Ace murmured. "Now you'll be ready for Princess Anna's sister dance."

Elsa laughed softly. "I suppose so. I'm not sure if she's serious about that or not. I hope she's not."

"Well, if she does spring it on you, you won't be caught unprepared."

"Can you imagine if she saw us right now?" Elsa couldn't help but smile. "She seems to think everyone I talk to must be 'the one'. You didn't hear her going on about you the last time I saw you."

Ace half shrugged. "She's just having fun."

Elsa was about to say something else when they were interrupted by a deafening squeal.

"Oh my god, double wedding!" Anna yelled from the balcony.

Ace and Elsa sprang apart.

"Anna!" Elsa shouted. "Why are you spying on me?"

"I'm not spying, you were missing. And we are _so_ having a sister dance tomorrow! Don't worry, I'll lead." Anna disappeared back inside, and Elsa sighed.

"Well, there went my hopes of a peaceful day," she lamented. She stared at the ground. "It's getting late and I have a lot to do tomorrow . . ."

"I understand," Ace bowed slightly. "Thank you for this evening. And for letting me stay here. Sleep well."

"You too," Elsa said.

Ace backed away, giving her one last smile, then turned and walked off into the darkness.

Elsa wrapped her arms around her stomach. She knew she should go back inside and show her face, but the last few days were catching up fast, and all she wanted was to sleep.

* * *

"Anna?" Elsa knocked lightly on her sister's door. "Are you in here?"

"Yup," Anna opened the bedroom door and promptly yawned. "What's up?"

"You're getting married tomorrow."

"I remember."

Elsa edged inside the bedroom. "Do you need some company?"

Anna grinned. "Yes, please." She bounced back to bed and leapt onto it, scattering pillows.

Elsa picked them up and carefully placed them on the bed. She hesitated.

"Come to bed," Anna demanded, and the stray thought went through Elsa's head that her sister had had much too much sugar and/or alcohol. She was practically vibrating.

"Are you going to be able to sleep?" Elsa asked, sliding into bed next to Anna.

"No. But that's okay, I don't need to sleep." Anna squirmed a bit. "We could stay up and talk all night."

Elsa captured Anna and held onto her. "Go to sleep."

"Tell me about Ace. What did you to tonight? Do you want some chocolate?"

"Please go to sleep."

"There's too much to think about . . . the sky's awake, Elsa."

Elsa closed her eyes, sighing into Anna's hair.

Eventually, Anna quieted. She spoke softly, "Elsa?"

"Hm?"

"That night that I . . . sent you away. I'm sorry. I was angry at you."

"S'okay."

"I love you."

"Love you too," Elsa's responses were getting pretty drowsy. Anna was warm and soft and comforting. She was the anchor in this sea of madness. Elsa didn't even realise she was shaking until Anna turned to face her, gripping tightly.

"I'm right here," Anna whispered. Her voice was so tender, so understanding, that Elsa couldn't help the tears that started running down her face. "You're not losing me, ever."

"I almost did," Elsa whimpered, one hand finding a scab from Kagami's attack. "And this is the last night we can stay together like this."

"Elsa," Anna's arms tightened around her. "That's not true. Kristoff would totally understand if you needed me. And I understand, too. When_ever_ you need me," Anna repeated, "I will be right here."

* * *

Anna was snoring lightly when Elsa woke up. The sun was only just rising, casting a faint glow in the room. Elsa had to detangle herself from her sister, because Anna had apparently contorted into an octopus during the night and had limbs going all over the place.

"Anna?" Elsa said softly, when she was sitting up and relatively free. "Wake up."

"M'wake," Anna mumbled.

"No, you're not. You've got a very big day ahead of you."

Anna turned over, now lying face down into her pillow.

"You're getting married today," Elsa reminded her, and was startled when Anna levitated off the bed.

"Oh, right!" Anna landed on her feet, suddenly wide awake. "It's my wedding day!" She buzzed around the room. "What do we do first? Oh gosh, the ceremony is only at lunch time, what am I supposed to do until then?"

Elsa smiled at her sister's excitement. "Calm down, I've got it all under control."

"What if something goes wrong?" Anna stopped dead. "What if there's a hurricane?"

Elsa cast a doubtful look at the sunny summer sky.

"What if Kristoff doesn't come to the wedding?"

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

"We need to find him," Anna ran back to Elsa. "Quick, get up!"

"Anna, relax," Elsa laughed. "I will go and find Kristoff in a minute. First things first, you need to relax. This is _your_ day. You wanted to go through the gardens and make sure everything is perfect."

"Okay." That seemed doable. "Then what?"

"Then you are getting your nails done, and I'll make sure the castle decorations haven't been spirited away in the night."

"Okay, still seems alright. But when do _we_ spend time together?" Anna looked anxious.

"You and I are getting our hair done together, and we're getting dressed together before the ceremony. I will be at your side right up until you say 'I do'."

"And everything's sorted and ready?"

"Everything is fine," Elsa said soothingly. "Relax, and sit down."

Anna plopped onto the bed again.

"Get dressed, and we'll go through the gardens together."

"Thanks for doing all this," Anna said. "I know I've thanked you, like, a million times before but I'm so relieved that you just handled everything. Anything I asked for, you just made it happen."

"Of course."

"You're the best sister ever," Anna surprised Elsa by jumping on top of her in a hug.

"Thanks," Elsa sounded a bit muffled. "You should get dressed."

"Go find Kristoff," Anna ordered. "Quick, before he escapes!" She ushered Elsa out of the door.

"I think if he was going to run he would have done so before this point," Elsa said to a closed door, shaking her head when she heard Anna singing on the other side of the door.

After getting dressed as well, with her hair in a messy, simple braid (she'd dress up later) Elsa went down to the stables to find Kristoff. He was with Sven, brushing the reindeer vigorously.

"Please tell me you didn't sleep in here," Elsa said.

Kristoff beamed. "Nope. Just came down early this morning. Gotta make the best man look his best."

Elsa refrained from rolling her eyes. "Anna wanted me to make sure you hadn't 'run away'."

"Seriously?"

"She's a bit high strung today." Elsa's eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you know what you're supposed to be doing today?"

"Getting married?" Kristoff scratched his head.

Elsa sighed. "I'll give your schedule to someone and have them stay with you."

"I have a schedule?"

"By the way, have you seen Olaf this morning? He's the ring bearer and I just want to make sure he knows what he's doing."

"He was following Ace around," Kristoff said, going back to his reindeer grooming. "I'll see you later."

"Don't run away," she teased.

Kristoff grinned. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Elsa left him and went out to the gardens, checking up on everything. Anna was there, flitting from place to place like a hummingbird dipped in caffeine, and to Elsa's relief, Olaf was there, running madly around behind Anna.

Elsa called him over. "Olaf. Come here, little guy."

"Hi, Elsa," the snowman greeted. "Anna's getting married today!"

"Yeah, I know. Do you remember what you need to do?"

"Yup," Olaf said proudly. "Carry the rings, very carefully, whenever you tell me to. You'll be at the front with Anna, right?"

"I'll be standing right here." Elsa led him over the elaborately decorated arch at the edge of the gardens, surrounded by neatly trimmed bushes and ornate vases of flowers. "You'll start off at the end of the carpet."

Olaf ran to the end of the long crimson carpet, between rows and rows of seats. "Right here?"

"Yes. Then when I call you, you'll carry the rings over."

"Do I get a fancy outfit?" Olaf ran back to Elsa. "Like a bowtie and a top hat?"

"Do you want a bow tie and a top hat?"

"Yes!" Olaf jumped, then stood stock still, clearly waiting for Elsa to do something. She twirled one hand, and a snowy bowtie appeared on Olaf's chest, then a white top hat formed on his head. "Ooo . . . Thanks!"

"You're welcome," Elsa said. "Now stay out of trouble until I need you."

"Got it."

Elsa turned around to find Anna beaming at her. "You okay?"

"Never better," Anna sighed happily.

"Come on, you've got to get ready," Elsa said. "And I've still got to make sure Kai knows exactly what I need today."

"Everyone knows," Anna said, trotting cheerily next to Elsa as they went back into the castle. "You've been making lists for weeks. I've even got one."

"And you still haven't read it," Elsa teased.

Anna grabbed her in a hug, which Elsa returned willingly. They finally broke apart, and Kai approached, clearing his throat.

"Your majesty?"

"Yes?" Elsa asked.

"I just wanted to let you know that everything is going according to schedule. You said to keep you updated throughout the day."

"Thank you, Kai." Elsa nodded briefly.

Anna squealed slightly, all her excitement becoming too much. She was going to explode. "Everything is perfect!"

"Well," Elsa eyed Anna's unruly hair, "Almost. We should probably work on making you look a bit more like a princess."

Anna slipped her hand into Elsa's. "Okay. Come with me." Anna was about to drag Elsa away, when the room darkened slightly, as though a cloud had blocked out the sun.

Elsa frowned, and she, Anna and Kai moved to the open doors to look outside. There was a single, dark cloud floating across the sky, obscuring the sunlight.

Anna and Kai sent accusing looks at Elsa.

"Don't look at me," she defended herself. "I'm not doing that."

"It'll pass over," Kai decided.

Anna suddenly felt Elsa go absolutely rigid at her side. "Elsa?" she questioned, then her attention was drawn back to the sky as more dark clouds covered it, until there was no blue left to be seen.

"I told you this wasn't over," Kagami murmured, just a fleeting thought through Elsa's head.

The clouds darkened, and heavy rain began pouring, deluging down in sheets.

**End of Part 1.**

**There will be a part 2, I am still planning it out but have started writing it. Suggestions are welcome, since I'm still tossing up on how to end it . . .**

**SpicedGold**


	12. Chapter 12

Part 2

Chapter 12 – Elsa's Meltdown

**ABC11 – hope this was fast enough for you :-) Welcome to part 2 of Reflections.**

The ground was rapidly becoming waterlogged; there were already puddles forming, and waterfalls streaming off the castle roof. The downpour was unrelenting, and the rain was so thick it was almost impossible to see through it.

"Um . . ." Anna stared at the sudden change in weather. "This might be a problem."

"_Argh_!" Elsa stomped further into the castle, leaving snowflake footsteps. "Why can't anything ever go _right_?"

"What's causing this?" Anna trailed after her frustrated sister.

"Kagami." Elsa paused in the centre of the big ball room.

"How can we stop it?" Anna wondered aloud.

"I'll try beating my head against a wall, see if that works," Elsa growled. "Look, there's a wall right here-"

"Elsa," Anna grabbed her wrist before she could actually start whacking herself senseless. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Hey," a very drenched Kristoff appeared in the doorway, blonde hair plastered down. "It's started raining."

Anna shrieked rather unexpectedly and dived under a nearby table.

Elsa blinked at her. "What the . . .?"

"You're not supposed to see me!" Anna squawked. "The groom is not supposed to see the bride on their wedding day. It's bad luck."

"I think we're way past bad luck," Kristoff couldn't see anyway, his hair was in his eyes and he was rubbing droplets off his nose. "So, um . . . Rain?"

"Why don't we freeze it all?" Anna asked from under the table.

"Great idea!" Elsa said, and her tone suggested to Anna that the Queen might have finally lost it. "Then Arendelle will be under a foot of _hail_. That's _sooooo_ much better."

"Calm down," Kristoff said uncertainly.

"Calm down? _Calm down?_ There is a magic demon flooding my country and you want me to calm _down_?" Elsa was positively seething, pacing irritably between the door and window, as though the weather might be better out of one of them. "What do you _want?_!"

She hadn't expected answer, but Kagami chuckled softly in her thoughts. "More magic, of course. I told you, I'm a simple creature."

"How the hell does this help you?" Elsa demanded, causing everyone in the room to give her strange looks, because she was, apparently, talking to herself.

"Because people panic very easily. And when people panic, they get even stupider than normal. And they do very stupid things, like agreeing to hand over all their magic to make me stop."

"You're going to flood Arendelle just to get more of my magic?" Elsa deadpanned.

"Oh, poor little Elsa, do you think you're the only person around with magic? Just ask your friend, he knows. He's seen me before, remember? It's not only your magic I'm after, it's all the magic left in the world. If I were you, I would ask that wonderful partner in trade of yours. I'm going to spread my magic around for a while, but I'll be back in a day or two. Have fun until then."

He was gone, sliding away and leaving Elsa standing stock still and shocked.

"Elsa?" Anna asked, still under the table. "What did he say?"

Elsa didn't answer, just walked straight out of the castle doors, into the pouring rain.

Kristoff quirked an eyebrow at her, then a second later ducked for cover.

Elsa let out a scream of pure frustration, bolts of ice and snow flying from her in her irritation. The heavy rain turned her ice into slush almost immediately, but Elsa didn't care. She was beyond annoyed, and just needed to vent for a minute, sending massive amounts of snow into the sky, onto the ground, piling up against the castle walls.

She continued her tantrum for a few minutes, then returned inside, dripping wet and looking furious. "Kai."

He jumped at her sharp tone. "Yes, your majesty?"

"I want you, Ace, and the Duke of Weselton in the conference room, now. Anna, Kristoff?"

"Yup?" Anna asked tentatively.

"You too, both of you."

Olaf came running into the room, still sporting his top hat and bow tie. "Hey, Elsa! It's kinda raining and-"

"_Arrgh_!" Another burst of ice, bouncing off the wall and landing in a dull thump across the floor.

"Olaf," Anna said, "I wouldn't mention the word 'rain' right now."

"Oh," Olaf said. "If you say so. I'll go see if Sven wants to play in the r-"

"Shh," Anna said urgently.

"In the falling water," Olaf amended carefully.

Elsa sent him a look, one eyebrow raised in a manner that clearly said, 'I dare you to mention to the weather'.

The snowman edged past her, trying to look innocent, and bolted from the room.

"So . . . conference room," Anna finally got out from under the table. "Do you have a plan?"

"No." Elsa said tightly.

Anna and Kristoff traded glances, and shrugged. "Well," Anna said uncertainly, "Let's go and confer."

Elsa was muttering under her breath, arms crossed and still frowning. Anna and Kristoff didn't want to get too close to her in case her sudden onset insanity was catching.

Kai brought in Ace and the Duke, and locked the door. Everyone, with the exception of Elsa, sat down around the massive table. Except for the Duke, who looked like a trapped hamster (Anna had no idea what he thought Elsa was going to do to him, he just always seemed unnecessarily tense around her) everyone was sitting in a fairly relaxed manner, obviously confused but not at all intimidated.

Elsa had started pacing again, but she had stopped muttering.

"Why don't you sit down?" Anna suggested.

Elsa uncrossed her arms, and slumped into an open chair. "Okay, let's get this figured out."

"Is this rain your fault?" the Duke asked accusingly.

"No!" Elsa leapt out of her seat again, there was a faint 'boom' as more irritated magic burst from both of her hands, coating her end of the table in snow.

"Calm down," Anna said, for what seemed like the tenth time in a very short while. "What did Kagami say?"

"Who?" The Duke sprang from his seat. "What? Is that thing here, too? Are you starting some sort of monster club?"

Kristoff was quick enough to dart out of his seat and grab both Elsa's arms before she could freeze him on the spot. She still struggled against his hold, her wrists like ice in his hands. It sort of amused him; Elsa was never usually this riled up. Kristoff had lost count of the number of times he'd had to physically restrain Anna from doing something, but this was the first time he'd _ever_ had to grab a hold of Elsa.

"Kagami has nothing to do with Queen Elsa," Ace said soothingly, gesturing to the Duke to sit down again. He did so, glowering at Elsa.

Kristoff didn't think it was safe to let her go yet, he stayed where he was, standing behind her and holding both arms behind her back while she pointed a razor sharp glare at the Duke which, luckily, did not freeze him.

Anna held a hand over her mouth so Elsa wouldn't see her smiling, because she was pretty sure Elsa was not in a humorous mood. But it was too funny to see her calm and regal sister being physically held back by Kristoff. He could grin all he wanted; Elsa couldn't see him.

"You can let me go," Elsa said after a moment.

"Let's wait a few more minutes," Kristoff replied easily.

Elsa rolled her eyes and huffed. "Fine. Let's get down to business." She glared at the Duke again. "Yes, Kagami is here. But I certainly didn't invite him here, and I'm not a monster."

The Duke crossed his arms, returning her glare.

"He's trying to draw out all the magic in the world to take for himself. He said you would know something about that."

Ace coughed suspiciously. "Perhaps it would be better if I explained?"

"Why?" Anna asked with a frown.

Ace gestured towards the Duke with one hand, who immediately pointed an accusing finger at Elsa.

"I knew it! All of you monsters are in this together! Trying to take over the world and making deals with people. I knew it! And I'll-"

Elsa was wondering right about now if smashing someone _else's_ head against a wall would help her situation. She tugged experimentally against Kristoff's hold, and hadn't realised exactly how much the Duke was annoying her until Kristoff yelped and loosened his grip. Cold fingers of frost were forming on his skin.

"Sorry," she whispered over her shoulder.

Ace cleared his throat loudly. "As I was saying. Kagami attacked Weselton several years ago. About six? He nearly flooded the place then, too, but also had the power to, only briefly, control people's bodies."

And Kristoff had to let Elsa go before his fingers froze off.

"What?" she whispered, looking white as a sheet.

"Just for a few minutes," Ace said, not at all reassuringly. "He said he took that magic from a sorcerer, and in doing so took the sorcerer's life. And he would leave all of us alone if we handed over everyone magic in Weselton."

"Did you?" Anna asked morbidly.

Ace glanced at the Duke. "Yes. And he did leave."

"He never asked for _all_ my magic," Elsa said. "And I'm the only person in Arendelle with magic."

"No," Ace said. "You're the only one you know about. You managed to keep your secret for twenty one years, and you were a public figure. Imagine how easy it would be for an ordinary citizen to hide magic."

"Can't Kagami sense magic?" Anna asked. "He wouldn't need anyone to hand people over; he can go after them himself."

"He said he found me because of the amount of magic I used," Elsa pointed out. "Perhaps he can't sense low levels of magic."

"So he'll flood Arendelle until we hand over all the magic?" Kristoff made a face. "But as far as we know, all the magic in Arendelle is right here. How can we tell if there's more?"

"I'd be more concerned about how he intends to get the rest of Queen Elsa's magic," Ace said calmly. "Because from where I'm sitting, it looks like he's going to threaten every single person in Arendelle in exchange for your life."

"How do we kill him?" Anna asked flatly. "There has to be a way."

"Magic can destroy magic," Kristoff mused. "So it'll probably be up to Elsa."

"We won't do anything yet," Elsa decided. "Wait until Kagami's told us more."

"Are you sure it's safe to be here?" the Duke grumbled. "He's more likely to come here, because you're here, and monsters like to-"

"I. Am not. A. Monster!" Elsa finally snapped and flat out screamed at him, each clipped word chilling the room. Shards of ice were flying from her hands with each word, crashing into the floor and growing larger and more jagged.

Everyone in the room remained silent. It was Anna who finally spoke. "Elsa?"

"What?" she snapped angrily. This was clearly her breaking point, and the last few weeks were crashing down onto her. Weeks of sleepless planning, weeks of stressing, three days of agonizing despair, and absolute terror, and now having it all starting again was too much.

Elsa needed to vent, and she was going to do it right now.

"This is the last straw, Anna, I can't take it anymore." Ice crawled up the walls, cracking and shattering, then re-growing in ever increasing spirals. "I've had it with everything!"

Blasts of snow were swirling around them; a howling gale was forming inside the room.

"Should we run?" Kristoff yelled to Anna.

"No," Anna shouted back. "She's got this. Just give her a minute."

"We'll be dead in a minute."

"Nah." Anna sounded incredible nonchalant.

She was right, though. Elsa's mini storm increased in size and intensity, then billowed out from around her in one more sudden, powerful gust of wind and snow and ice, and settled into nothingness once more.

The room was under a foot of snow, the walls and ceiling completely covered in ice. There were still snowflakes falling softly around the room, but Elsa had suddenly run out of energy and slumped into her seat. She brushed snow off the table, enough lean one elbow onto the damp wood and lean her face into that hand.

Anna shook herself vigorously, sending more snow cascading off herself onto the chair, floor and table. "Feel better?"

"Not at all," Elsa murmured into her palm.

"Um," Kristoff shivered. "So, it was summer before this happened and it's kinda cold in here . . ."

"You can all go," Elsa said quietly.

Everyone except Anna made for the door immediately. The princess shifted her chair, with difficulty, closer to her sister, so that she could put on hand on Elsa's shoulder. "Hey. It'll be okay. We can do anything together, remember?"

"I can't take this anymore, I need a break. I can't handle everything piling up all at once." Elsa sounded desperate.

"I'm still here."

Elsa didn't have anything to say in reply to that. She clenched her eyes closed, concentrating on just breathing. She was overwhelmed, and she needed to take a moment to focus and plan.

She was startled by a knock at the door.

"Come in," Anna called hesitantly.

Elsa didn't look up, she was honestly too tired to bother.

"It's One, from the Southern Isles," Anna whispered to her.

"Which one?"

"One," Anna said more forcefully.

Elsa straightened, clasping her hands together and resting them on the only part of the table not covered by a snowdrift.

The oldest prince of the Southern Isles looked flabbergasted at the state of the room, but he tactfully refrained from saying anything about it. "Queen Elsa, we've noticed that the weather appears to have taken a turn for the worst."

Elsa's expression darkened slightly. "And?"

"And there are rumours that it is due to some sort of magical being. If it is, I am offering the help of the Southern Isles should you need it."

"Thanks," Anna said, surprised.

"Whatever needs to be done, please do not hesitate to ask."

"Do you know how to destroy magic?" Elsa asked calmly.

"Well . . . no."

"Then get out," she fumed.

Anna gave her sister a sideways glance as the prince scurried from the room, obviously worried by Elsa's tone. "You're a bit snappy. He's just being nice."

"I don't care."

Anna had to grin, because Elsa was going through all of her emotions in a very short space of time. Apparently furious temper tantrum was morphing into whiny child. "You need a break."

"I need to figure out how to fix all this." Elsa folded her arms on the table and dropped her face onto them. "There must be some way to solve this."

"What about the rain?" Anna used the forbidden word, but this time it didn't send Elsa into a petulant rage.

She bolted upright, one hand wiped at her eyes, then she ran it through her hair. It was still plastered down, and dripping wet. Anna could see Elsa's Queen Face sliding into place, her shoulders relaxing visibly. Elsa let out a deep breath, "Fine, let's fix everything."

Anna stood up when Elsa did, trailing after her as she went to the door.

"Kai," Elsa said, sounding more like herself again. "I need drainage channels cut around all the farmlands, and reports on how bad the flooding is around the crops. First priority is making sure that all the food crops are relatively safe. Kristoff?"

"Yup?" He was wringing water out of his clothes, directly onto the ball room floor.

Elsa's eyes narrowed, but she didn't comment on it. "Are you able to take Sven and get to your family? I need to know how to get rid of magic."

"We did that already. While you and Anna were in my cabin."

"And?"

"Grand Pappie said magic can't really be destroyed, it can only be transferred. But Kagami has a solid form, which is basically a body, and that can be killed."

"How? Every time we try to hurt him he changes form?"

Kristoff shrugged. "I can ask." He cast a doubtful eye at the clouds. "If I really have to."

"Yes, please." Elsa nodded at him. "Anna?"

"Yes?" she asked.

"You're supposed to get married today."

"Yeah, I know. Things aren't looking good for that."

"What do you want to do?"

Anna took a moment to think. She looked at Kristoff who was still watching the rain fall, and at Elsa, who seemed to waiting with bated breath for Anna's decision.

"I'm going to do exactly what you would do," Anna said determinedly. "One thing at a time."

Elsa was visibly relieved. "Alright then. The wedding is postponed until Kagami is taken care of."

"Your majesty?" Kai asked. "How are we supposed to cut drainage channels in weather like this?"

"Give me a minute." Elsa said, and Anna looked at her curiously. What on earth was Elsa planning? She was taking a few deep breaths, Anna recognised it as her 'calm down and focus' routine. Then Elsa went to the door, back into the pouring rain.

Anna trotted after her, flummoxed.

Elsa stood in the flooding gardens, with the ground soft and sinking underfoot, and brought both hands together.

"Elsa?"

Several pillars of ice erupted from the ground, and Anna jumped when she felt the ground shuddering, and could see, forming in the distance, more pillars of ice. They were forming all over Arendelle, growing upwards and thicker, while Elsa stood with her eyes scrunched shut in concentration.

"Whoa," Anna said softly, as the pillars began forming a flat sheet of ice over the castle. Each one stretched towards the next, until they connected into a solid plane of ice, blocking out of the rain. Elsa was still standing still, Anna could see her starting to shudder slightly from the effort, and Anna stared at the sky.

The sheet of ice was still growing, stretching farther than Anna's eyes could see, forming a roof over the whole of Arendelle. The rain could still be heard, pinging off the ice, but it was no longer soaking into the ground.

Elsa opened her eyes, and looked up, nervously. "Oh. It worked."

"Wow!" Anna bounced outside, to Elsa's shoulder. "That's amazing! Did you cover all of Arendelle?"

"I think so," Elsa said uncertainly. "But the rain will break through eventually. I'll have to keep reforming this."

"Wow," Anna said again. "Incredible. So, what's next?"

"I'm going to have a look at some books and see if they have any information on getting rid of magic."

"I thought you'd read them all?"

"I have. But I'm looking for something different now." Elsa shook rain drops off her hands. "There might be something I overlooked."

"Okay," Anna said quietly, now feeling a little lost. She was meant to spend today in the sunshine, with Kristoff and Elsa, and getting married. Now everyone was doing other things. Anna didn't want to sound selfish, but she really wanted all the attention on her, and every time that happened something snatched it away. "I'll be in my room."

"Okay," Elsa sounded equally distracted, and Anna left her standing in the garden looking at the icy canopy. She was wondering how long it would hold for, before the rain melted through. Not that she had time to dwell on it; she needed to go to the study and look through her books.

The books in her study were the ones her father had looked through the most often; so Elsa had always assumed they had the most information about magic. There were thousands more in the library, of course, but Elsa was going to start with the ones she knew. She went straight to her study, without bothering about drying off (it's not like the cold was going to bother her) and closed the door.

**Lol, poor Elsa. Hope everyone enjoyed that, I'll update as soon as I can between work.**

**SpicedGold**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – Who?

**Very short chapter, and you're lucky to get an update at all; got two commissions today (urgent, can you have them done by, say, the end of the day? Why not, it's not like I have a life or anything . . .) and the rest of the week is going to be a nightmare for me so don't hold your breath expecting an update – next chapter will likely only be up on Saturday night.**

Anna was sulking. She knew she shouldn't be sulking, but she was. She was grumpy and fed up, and wanted to hit something. Preferably Kagami, but she didn't know where he was. Or if he could even get hit.

She was lying face down on her bed, occasionally making a frustrated groan into the pillow, when she heard the sound of ice crackling.

"Elsa?" Anna turned her head towards the door, confused. The door was still closed, but the sound of ice was unmistakable. Anna frowned.

The wood of the door was frosting over, ice spreading across the surface.

Anna got up, even more confused. "Um . . . Elsa? You out there?"

The handle was coated in ice, the key hole blocked.

"Elsa?" Anna tried to open the door, but it was frozen shut. She shook it, but the ice was solid and firm and Anna came to the disparaging conclusion that she frozen into her room. "Elsa!"

She was shouting now, hoping someone would hear her. "Elsa! Open this door!"

* * *

Kristoff had just finished drying himself off and getting dressed for floods instead of a delightful summer wedding, when there was a tentative knock at his door. He looked over his shoulder, and immediately smile. "Hey, fiestypants."

Anna returned his smile tentatively. "So . . . getting ready to go see the trolls?"

"Yeah." Kristoff was shrugging on a jacket. "I'm not sure how far Elsa's little ice roof goes but I'm hoping most of the route there will be undercover. Sven hates mud."

"You know," Anna said thoughtfully. "The trolls have magic."

"Yeah?"

"That's what Kagami wants. He's not going to stop this rain until he gets it."

Kristoff's expression was guarded. "What are you trying to say?"

"If the trolls gave up their magic, maybe things could go back to normal. _We_ could go back to normal."

"I can't believe you would even suggest that. That's my _family_, and magic is a part of who they are. Do you really think Elsa's going to hand over her magic?"

"Kagami wants _all_ the magic," Anna pointed out. "The trolls are part of that."

"I'm not handing my family over to a lunatic." His words were getting tighter. "Do you even hear yourself?"

"But then we can get everything back to normal."

"I know you want to get married, and I really do too, but we can't just give Kagami what he wants. And definitely not if it's our family. You'd do anything for Elsa, and I'd do anything for my family. Don't worry," he smiled reassuringly. "We'll get everything back to normal, and we will get married."

"About that," Anna said slowly. "I was thinking . . ."

"Oh boy," Kristoff kidded. His smile vanished when he saw her face. "Anna?"

"What if this is all . . . a sign?"

"A what?"

"Elsa cancelling the wedding, now Kagami flooding Arendelle. Maybe we're not meant to get married after all. Maybe this isn't meant to be."

"Oh, Anna, love," Kristoff immediately came to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "It's alright. You're just getting nervous and that's perfectly normal. I love you, you know that?"

"But it seems like there's always something getting in the way." Kristoff noted the absence of Anna's reciprocating 'I love you too', and he felt a twinge of unease, because she had never failed to say it back. Anna continued, "The thought of getting married . . . it's been _worrying_ me instead of making me happy. I'm afraid that it's wrong."

"You're just stressed out, that's all."

"Maybe." Anna wouldn't look at him.

"Now don't worry about a thing," Kristoff said. "Sven and I will be as quick as we can."

"Okay," she said. She turned away when Kristoff tried to kiss her, and spoke dully, staring at the floor. "Be careful."

"Always." He watched her walk away, an unsettling feeling of doubt in his stomach. This was not like Anna; she was always optimistic and bubbly and looking on the bright side of things. If Anna was upset and depressed, something was going very wrong.

He went out to find Sven, his thoughts in a jumble. Anna saying they weren't meant to get married? Surely not. Was she having second thoughts? She had never, ever been like that before. And if she was having second thoughts . . . should Kristoff be having them too?

Were he and Anna truly meant to be?

* * *

"Elsa," Anna thumped her head softly against the door. She had long since given up on yelling, and was now just repeating her sister's name in various tones of boredom, sitting on the floor. "Open the door."

There was still no answer, just as there hadn't been for the last half hour.

"Elsaaaaaa," Anna whined. "Did you freeze my door and run away or something? This is a very weird joke, can you stop it now?" Another thump of the head against the door. "_Elsa_!"

* * *

Elsa was reading, paging quite happily through her book, secure in the knowledge that she was doing everything she could to sort out this whole Kagami mess. Kristoff was on his way to Grand Pappie, Kai was sending people to make sure Arendelle's crops were safe, Anna was-

What _was_ Anna doing? Elsa blinked, suddenly realising that she had been reading for quite a long time and Anna hadn't pitched up to interrupt her yet. That was unusual.

Elsa closed her book, and stared out the window again. It was becoming a habit, studying the sky several times a day; her barricade of ice was still keeping the rain off Arendelle, so that was one small relief.

Elsa went downstairs first, and found Olaf trotting around the ballroom showing off his top hat to anyone who would listen. "Olaf, have you seen Anna?"

"Yeah," the snowman replied. "She went to say bye to Kristoff. I guess she's still saying bye because I never saw her come out of his room again. Which is weird, because he came out."

"You must have just missed her, then," Elsa decided. If Kristoff had already left, Anna was most likely upstairs, in her room. Elsa went back upstairs (at least she was getting exercise) and to Anna's room. "Anna? Are you in there?"

"There you are!" Anna sounded delighted from the other side of the door. "I was wondering when you'd come back."

"Back?"

"Yeah, you know, opposite of front? Or forth?"

"What do you mean 'back'? I've been in my study. Why won't this door open?"

"Duh, because you froze it shut."

Elsa let go of the handle, snatching her hands away. "I'm sorry?"

"Did you hit your head or something? You have ice powers, you might remember-"

Elsa cut Anna off before she could start rambling. "Anna, I haven't been here all day."

"Well, _someone_ froze my door shut, and unless there's someone else who . . . oh." Anna finished.

Elsa took hold of the door handle again. "Is the ice melting?"

"Yup."

"Good." Elsa wasn't sure if it would. She opened the door as soon as it was able to be opened. Anna tumbled out of her room, clearly she had been using the door as a leaning post. "Hi."

"Hi." Anna was frowning, lying on the floor. "If it wasn't you, it must have been Kagami."

"Well he didn't come near me, so I don't know what he was doing."

"Between you and me," Anna got to her feet. "I think he might have lost the plot a few years back. Still, no harm done."

"That we know of." Elsa went to the nearest window, looking to the sky again. "I just hope we can figure out how to get rid of him before he does any more damage."

"He did the impossible already, so I figure he can't escalate."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he made me hate you. Nothing can be worse that than."

* * *

Kristoff and Sven were trotting along, sloshing through the muddy forest, with the rain pouring down around them. Then, abruptly, the rain stopped, leaving them in a clear patch of sunshine, surrounded by walls of water.

Sven stopped uncertainly, sensing something different.

"What the . . ." Kristoff jumped to the ground. He went to the edge of the clearing, standing right next to the torrential rain. There was not a drop of water in the clearing.

Sven suddenly jumped, braying out a warning. Kristoff spun around, and saw a small, lithe, lizard-like creature lying peacefully on the ground. It was watching them both with empty, hollow eyes.

Sven made a nervous sound.

"S'okay, buddy, stay behind me," Kristoff said, moving protectively in front of his reindeer.

Kagami stayed perfectly still, languid and non-threatening. "People never run when they should. They stand and stare, and it always makes everything worse."

"What?"

"You should have run. Everyone should run. But now you're right here, and you can't get away."

Kristoff was on guard, ready to do . . . something, he didn't really know what, but he was ready for it anyway.

"I have a lot of different magic inside me. Elsa's ice is wonderful; it's so easy to hurt people with it."

"You made it rain."

"Yes. But do you know what one of my other powers is?"

Kristoff felt Sven bump his nose into his back, clearly worried and trying to hide.

"I can take control of people's bodies."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – Magic versus Magic

**Ah, the endless nightmare of the school holidays is over and things go back to being relatively normal for me . . . Except for the endless commission work. Don't do freelance, kids, its hard work. Get a real job.**

"Anna," Elsa said softly, startling her sister out of her daydream.

Anna had been sitting on one of the baloneys for the last few hours, gazing out across Arendelle, in the direction Kristoff should be returning home from.

The city below was bathed in an unreal glow, the moonlight refracted strangely through the icy sheet covering the kingdom, and the rain still drumming above it made marbled patterns on anything the moonlight touched.

"It's getting late. Come to bed."

Anna sighed, her chin resting on one hand. "He's taking too long."

"The path is flooded," Elsa said softly. "Sven can't run fast on it. We know he's going to take longer than normal."

"This wasn't how this night was supposed to be," Anna said, keeping her head turned away from Elsa. She rubbed at her eyes with her free hand.

"I know."

"I'm supposed to be married. It's supposed to be a beautiful night with the sky awake. Now everything is underwater and there's a sheet of ice over my head."

Elsa couldn't help but look up. She had thickened the ice just after she had eaten – at Kai's insistence, and with him watching her, because he knew Elsa didn't eat when she was busy or stressed – and was confident that it would hold through the night. "Come on. Let's go to bed."

"If he's not here by morning, will you send someone after him?"

"If he's not here by morning," Elsa said softly, "I'll send Ace after him. You know we can trust him."

"Doesn't he have work to do?" Anna heaved herself to her feet.

"Yes. He's out right now. But I told him to come here first thing, if he could."

Anna was half asleep; it had been an exhausting and disappointing day. She was leaning on Elsa as they went back to Anna's room. They fell into a fatigued heap together, and for once Anna kept still throughout the night.

* * *

Elsa woke up when Anna pushed her out of the bed and she landed on the floor in a surprised puff of snowflakes. "Wh . . .?"

Anna was still asleep, dangerously close to falling off the bed onto her sister.

Elsa stood up and gently rolled Anna into the middle of the bed. It was hard to tell what time it was, with the rain clouds blocking the sun and the icy canopy distorting the light. Elsa got dressed quickly and went downstairs.

It was very quiet, but Ace was in the kitchens, having breakfast alone.

Elsa slid into a seat opposite him. "Morning."

"Good morning, Queen Elsa," he said brightly. "You're up early."

"Am I?"

"It's five in the morning."

"Then why are you here?"

"You said to come first thing. I was up anyway, resuscitating a goat that got caught in the flood."

"Did you sleep at all?"

"Of course. For about four hours. What do you need me to do today?"

"If Kristoff isn't home, I need you to go after him."

"He's not home." Ace sounded definitive.

"How do you know?"

"Because Sven isn't here. I was in the stables this morning. No reindeer."

Elsa felt a knot forming in her stomach. "He's not home?"

Ace shook his head. "Definitely not. When do you want me to go after him?"

"Right now. Before Anna wakes up." Elsa twisted her hands together nervously. "Do you need a horse?"

Ace grinned, "I brought my own. Figured if I was going to be spending much more time here, I better bring my pride and joy with me."

"So you can go now? Right now?"

"Right after breakfast," Ace promised. "And I'll find him, don't worry."

That was a waste of breath, because Elsa was already worrying. She sat with Ace for a few minutes longer, then couldn't stand being still anymore and got up, wandering off.

* * *

Ace's horse was a big, black stallion with four white stockings and a white blaze. The ice canopy over Arendelle did not extend into the forest, and Ace had to squint through the unrelenting rain to see the path Elsa had told him to follow.

He couldn't gallop, the ground was too slippery to risk it, but he was going as fast as he could without jeopardising his horse. Ace was slightly surprised to find himself suddenly in a small patch of ground with no rain falling on it.

It was a very distinct circle of dry ground, dotted with a few trees and rocks, and-

"Kristoff," Ace dismounted his horse, rushing forwards.

Kristoff was lying on his side, perfectly still, with Sven snuggled up against him, the reindeer's head curved protectively over him.

"What happened?" Ace dropped to his knees.

Kristoff groaned slightly. "Who's there?"

"It's me, Ace. Queen Elsa sent me to find you when you didn't come home. Have you been here all night?" Ace's keen eyes were assessing and analysing. "You're not breathing well. Can you tell me what happened?"

Sven made a mournful sound, still keeping his body wrapped around Kristoff.

"Not your fault, buddy," Kristoff said softly. He winced, and managed to roll onto his back. "That stupid magic thing was here. Ow!"

Ace was running his hands down Kristoff's limbs, checking for broken bones. "Nothing broken yet. Woops, here's the problem."

"OW!"

"You've broken several ribs."

"I _know_ that. Stop touching them." Kristoff coughed, and then groaned because that was very, _very_ painful.

"And possibly punctured a lung. I suppose that's why you couldn't get home again. I imagine you're quite bruised, but I'll need to do a proper examination to-"

"I'm fine," Kristoff moaned breathlessly.

"Really? Your body is telling me otherwise." Ace's hands were gentle, checking Kristoff's hands for broken fingers. "What did Kagami do?"

"You know he can control bodies?"

"Yes."

Sven groaned again, sounding pitiful.

"He took control of Sven. Made him attack me."

Ace didn't know reindeer could whimper, but Sven did, burying his nose in Kristoff's chest.

"That would account for the broken ribs. And the bruising. And these shallow scrapes." Ace's fingers touched lightly at the bloody marks on Kristoff's clothes. "Now, I'm wondering how we should get you home."

"Help me up and I'll walk."

"Ha ha, nice to see your sense of humour isn't damaged. As amusing as that is, it's not going to happen. You can get up onto Zephyr here, and he'll carry you home."

Ace's horse snorted proudly.

"Um, no thanks." Kristoff squirmed slightly. "I don't like horses."

"He's smoother than Sven, and he's been trained for this sort of thing," Ace explained patiently. "Also, Princess Anna is worried about you and wants you home as soon as possible. Zephyr will get you home faster."

"But Sven . . ."

"I will walk with him," Ace said. "He'll be fine. He'll be right at your side the whole way. Zephyr?"

The big black horse came forwards, ears twitching at Sven. The reindeer stayed exactly where he was, stubbornly blocking Kristoff from any (more) harm.

"Sven," Ace said gently, rubbing one of the reindeer's ears. "We need to get him home. I know you're upset and you think this is your fault, but it isn't. You've done well keeping him safe through the night, but now he needs more than just your warmth and love."

Sven's eyes were pleading and moist.

"You have done nothing wrong. Kristoff will be fine." Ace looked directly into Sven's eyes. "Trust me, please. I helped you before, and I will do the same for Kristoff."

Sven heaved himself to his feet, keeping his nose just gently touching Kristoff.

"Thank you." Ace smiled at him. "Right, Kristoff. Can you get up?"

"Yeah, I told you, I'm fine." Kristoff struggled to sit up.

"I see that," Ace said agreeably, and Kristoff would have made a face at his patronizing tone but he couldn't quite summon the ability. "Breathe slowly. I'm not sure you haven't punctured a lung yet."

It was difficult and painful for Kristoff to get up and clamber onto Zephyr, who lay down obediently. The horse stood up very slowly, without jolting Kristoff at all, and started the long, rather wet walk home.

Sven stayed close, his side brushing against Kristoff's leg as he walked.

* * *

Anna shot out of the castle at a speed that shouldn't be possible when she saw Ace and Kristoff approaching, and was already shouting before she was out of the door. "What happened? Is he alright? Do we need help?"

Ace held up both hands to ward her off. "Settle down. He'll be fine."

Kristoff nodded. "Yep. I'm fine."

"He will need a doctor, though," Ace continued, and Anna nodded.

"No, I don't," Kristoff said, trying to sit up straighter, but finding it to be almost impossible with his ribs aching and very bruised. "I don't need a doctor, really."

"Why do all the blonde people in your family have an irrational hated towards medical intervention?" Ace asked.

Anna shrugged. "No idea."

They didn't dwell on it; it seemed more important to get Kristoff inside and comfortable than to discuss his and Elsa's aversion to doctors ("Maybe if the doctor was a rock or a snowman . . .?"), and Ace left soon afterwards to chat to Sven.

"He's a bit down," he explained, leaving Anna and Kristoff arguing over doctors, "I'll just make sure he's coping."

"You need a doctor," Anna insisted, completely ignoring Ace's good bye.

"No, I don't," Kristoff said firmly. "I just need some ice."

"Doctor!"

"Ice!"

"Doctor!"

"Ice!"

"Fine!" Anna shouted. "I'll get the damn _Queen_ of Ice!" She stormed out of the room, incensed that Kristoff didn't want to be nursed and coddled. If she had taken more than a second to consider that it would have made perfect sense; Kristoff wasn't exactly a 'lie down and be coddled' kind of guy. But Anna had spent a sleepless night thinking something had happened to him, and now that she discovered something _had_ happened she wanted to stay at his side and watch him like a hawk.

"Elsa!" Anna trumpeted, tripping up the stairs. "Kristoff is home, but he's hurt!" Anna went to Elsa's study first. "Oh, there you are- what are you doing?"

Elsa hadn't looked up; she was staring intently at a book, one hand following the text, the other hand holding up a little swirl of snow and ice shards.

"Elsa?" Anna came into the room carefully.

"Don't move," Elsa said, quietly but firmly. She finally looked at the snow suspended above her hand, eyes narrowing in concentration. The snow started to shake, then separated into even smaller flakes, an abundance of tiny white floating in a sphere shape.

Anna stretched forwards, on her toes, trying to see what was happening without taking a step forwards.

The white snow changed again, this time turning into a powdery blue whirlwind that sparkled and twisted. Elsa glanced at Anna, just briefly, then turned her concentration back to the blue floating in her palm.

"What's that?" Anna asked.

"Come and see," the tension in Elsa's voice was giving way to wonder. "This is magic . . . I changed my ice into pure magic."

Anna tiptoed closer, "And this helps us, how?"

"Kagami can be destroyed by magic," Elsa's eyes never moved. "But whenever I used mine, he can just phase into his, um, smoky form and be unaffected by it. But this," the blue powder swirled in time with Elsa's words, "Should still affect him, in every form."

"Wow," Anna said softly. "So that's how you're going to defeat him."

"If I can get the hang of it," Elsa's concentrated frown slid back into place. "It's a bit tricky to do, and I'm not sure how long I can-"

The blue powder reformed into snow, and exploded into a large flurry that hit both Elsa and Anna in the face.

"I see," Anna wiped snow from her eyes. "Can you take a break from magic making and see Kristoff?"

"What happened?" Elsa immediately rose to her feet. "Is he alright?"

"Not really. Ace says he needs a doctor, but you know Kristoff." She paused, then added quietly. "Kagami attacked him."

"What?" Elsa ushered Anna out of the study. "Why? Where? How?"

Anna shrugged. "I have no idea."

Elsa overtook Anna on the way back to Kristoff, who was squirming around trying to get comfortable and failing utterly. He blinked in surprised when they both came into his room. "I'm fine, by the way."

"Anna said Kagami attacked you," Elsa said, sounding shocked.

"Yeah." Kristoff rubbed a hand through his hair. "He did."

Elsa's jaw tightened. "Excuse me for a minute, there's something I need to do."

Anna jumped out of her way as Elsa left the room, looking thunderous. She peered cautiously after her sister. "Um . . ."

"Follow her?" Kristoff suggested.

"Maybe in a minute." Anna turned back to her fiancé, looking worried. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah. There's nothing you can do for broken ribs, you just sort of leave them and wait for them to heal." Kristoff cleared his throat, suddenly looking even more uncomfortable. "Look, I had a lot of time to think, last night, lying on the ground."

Anna's expression was guarded.

"You shouldn't have doubts, when you're getting married," he said, and Anna assumed he meant 'you' plural. "Not even little ones. And if you do, well . . . well, that's something to think about."

Kristoff was mentally berating himself because he clearly sucked at this sort of thing. Anna was looking hurt and confused, and he tried to make his meaning clearer.

"Anna, if it's not right . . . not completely right . . . then maybe we should wait a bit. Things moved quite fast between us, and I don't want you to feel like you have to do something when you don't. I'll always love you, no matter what we decide."

"What are you saying?" Anna asked, feeling completely at sea with the conversation. "You don't . . . want to get married?"

Kristoff didn't know why she sounded so shocked; she had been the one to originally bring it up. "Of course I do, but everything is going crazy right now . . . I mean, if we're meant to be together, why is there always something in the way, you know?"

"I don't . . ." Anna wondered if she was panicking because this didn't sound right. Was Kristoff suggesting they don't get married, because he had doubts? He felt that it wasn't right?

"Waiting 'til spring wouldn't be so bad," he continued softly, staring at his lap because looking at Anna was too painful. "If that's . . . what you want."

Anna was shaking her head, but she didn't know why. How could Kristoff even say this? Had she been wrong about him? It wasn't a secret that love was an area she didn't know much about. She needed to think, because this was all too much to handle.

"I've got to go," she stammered, backing away from him, and he looked upset by that comment. Then her brain latched onto another thought: what if that wasn't Kristoff? What if that was Kagami, trying to put ideas into her head and ruin everything, again? And if it was him . . . where was the real Kristoff?

* * *

The door to Elsa's room slammed shut, the handle coated in frost, and she stormed into the very centre of the room, feeling anger bubbling under all the ice in her veins. "Kagami!"

He slipped into her mind, not even slightly visible, and his presence was dark and heavy. "Yes, Elsa?"

"What the hell did you do to Kristoff?"

"I didn't do a thing. I think you'll find his little reindeer attacked him."

"Do not play with me," Elsa hissed. "I know it was you."

"In a manner of speaking." The magic finally formed, a wispy purple cloud floating in front of her. "I like the roof you've made. It's very secure."

"Kristoff wasn't a threat to you _at all_ and you just-"

"Wrong." Kagami sounded so disinterested that Elsa nearly missed it.

She hesitated. "What?"

"I know about those trolls. They have magic too. And remember, it's so much easier to take when people agree on it. So I suggested to Kristoff that he hand his family over to me."

"You . . . suggested . . ." Elsa didn't even know how to process that.

"But he was not very receptive to the idea. In fact, he was quite annoyed with me."

Elsa huffed. "Why don't you leave everyone else alone? This is between you and me."

"No, it's not. This is between me and the magic in Arendelle. Which is _mostly_ you, but not all. People need to panic, because panic reveals more magic. You should know, that's how you first outed yourself."

"Flooding Arendelle won't get you more magic. It will only make me angrier."

"I know. And then you'll freeze everything and everyone will suddenly think, maybe it's not such a good idea to be ruled by an ice tyrant. And when everyone wants you gone, I'll come and help them."

Elsa pondered that for a moment, suddenly realising that every move Kagami had made so far was to turn people against her; even Anna had doubted her sanity (pot kettle black, Anna). There were two frozen people that she had no idea how to help. There had been snow over Arendelle. There had been the inexplicable cancellation of a wedding.

The last few days had proven that Elsa was a monster, and could not be trusted. "You . . . you want them all to hate me."

"And it's so easy," Kagami purred. "Even your own sister hated you."

Elsa's face was stony. "You said that you would never lie to me?"

"That's correct. You and I are the same. You don't lie to the people who are like you."

It was supposed to hurt, and it did, because Elsa had lied to Anna so much. "Tell me how to kill you."

"Is that all?" Kagami's purple and black cloud paused. "My body can be destroyed by magic, in its solid form."

"Yes, but how?"

"I am a mirror," Kagami said cryptically. "To destroy a mirror, you need to get rid of the thing it is reflecting."

Elsa was considering that very unhelpful piece of advice when Anna came flying through her door, without knocking, and nearly crashed into her.

"Elsa! I need to talk to you, and it's urgent and – what are you doing?"

Before Elsa could do anything, react in any way, Kagami had formed beside Anna, his long body curving around her and blocking her from Elsa. Anna screeched, taken by surprise.

"Don't do anything to her," Elsa warned, feeling a twist of ice forming around her hand.

Kagami growled, levelling his gaze at the Queen. "If you attack me, there's no way to avoid hurting her."

Anna was staring, largely in awe, at the creature surrounding her; he was a different size every time she saw him. Now his shoulders were the same height as her elbows, the long hair down his spine rising to obscure her vision, and his whole body moved like a wave, up and down in a gentle rhythm.

The ice in Elsa's hand was changing, turning from white powder into sparkling blue light, shining against her skin.

"Be careful," Kagami said, watching her. "Magic can be very unpredictable."

He had barely finished speaking when Elsa suddenly felt the magic sitting in her palm bolt away from her, towards Kagami. The second the magic touched him, the rain outside stopped.

It was immensely satisfying to hear him suddenly shriek in pain, twisting in spirals, the size and shape of his body contorting and morphing into a thousand different forms in mere seconds.

He shot across the room, towards Elsa, and she instantly, involuntarily, surrounded herself with sharply pointed icicles. Kagami smashed through them –_why didn't he just change forms?_ – and Elsa could see the ice cutting into his flesh. But he seemed to be in a frenzied pain, and he twisted through her ice, suddenly slamming his entire body into her.

Elsa was thrown onto the floor; she was aware of a sudden warmth pooling on her arm then her vision went blank and she felt an unbelievable pain in her skull.

Kagami was writhing around her mind, she could feel his pain and panic, the same resounding thought for once going from him into her. Pain, _pain, __**pain**_, throbbing around her head, twisting into coils of deadly pressure and Elsa was going to go mad if she had to feel that for one single second longer-

Then Kagami flashed away, and Elsa was aware of her ragged breathing, harsh gasps for air, lying on her back on the floor and oh god, was that icicle right through her arm?

"Elsa!" Anna was kneeling next to her, her warm hands flitting from Elsa's face to her arm and back. "Elsa, can you hear me?"

It took Elsa a good minute to realise that the ice stuck through her arm, while painful, did not seem to be bleeding. She was staring, fascinated, because one of the broken tips of an icicle had pierced her upper arm, she could see the slight bulge in the flesh were the ice had penetrated.

"Don't move," Anna said, "It's okay, it's fine, it'll be alright."

Elsa closed her eyes again, turning her head to the side so that her cheek was against Anna's knee, because Anna was warm and all Elsa could feel was the throbbing in her arm and the pounding in her head.

"I'm here," Anna said, uncertainly, unsure of whether or not Elsa could even hear her. "Elsa?"

"I . . ." It was hard to speak, her throat felt raw. Had she been screaming? She knew Kagami had . . . she focused, on Anna, and the warmth from her sister, and to her relief the ice around her started melting away.

It stung her arm, she could actually feel the ice changing shape and starting to disappear. When she was brave enough to open her eyes, her arm was unharmed. No mark, no blood. And then she couldn't see anything because Anna had enveloped her in a hug.

"Are you okay?"

"I . . . think so," Elsa was unsure. She shifted carefully, seeing if everything was in working order. She managed to sit up, testing her weight on her arm. There was a trail of blood across the floor, showing Kagami's path towards Elsa, and the front of her dress was splattered as well.

"You were screaming," Anna said. "Did he hurt you?"

"No," Elsa pressed a hand against her forehead. "I hurt him."

"Good," Anna breathed. "Where is he now?"

"I don't know." The room spun, Elsa clutched Anna for support. Everything was hazy, drifting in and out of focus.

"What was he doing here?" Anna asked.

"Trying to . . . trying to get everyone in Arendelle against me."

"But why attack Kristoff?" This was bothering Anna.

"Because he wouldn't hand over his family." Elsa, with a little bit of help, got to her feet. "That's all. I think."

"It's not raining," Anna finally noticed, staring outside. "It's stopped."

Elsa sagged in relief, nearly dragging Anna back onto the floor.

**Oh, and I think I've figured out the ending to this story, but if you leave a review feel free to leave a suggestion for the ending (or PM me, whatever) because it's not set in stone.**

**SpicedGold**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 16 – And the World came Tumbling Down

**First off, let's all be very sympathetic towards Kristoff, because broken ribs are not fun. They are the most annoying of all broken bones. That idle thought aside, continue with your fanfiction.**

"Six broken ribs, dislocated wrist, seventeen stiches in three wounds and possibly fractured collarbone." Ace sounded diabolically cheerful rattling off his list as he sat next to Kristoff's bed and packed his bag.

"'Possibly' fractured?" Anna echoed, hovering over Kristoff as though he might break if she breathed too hard.

"It's hard to tell when he keeps squirming."

"I don't squirm," Kristoff said indignantly. He was decorated in lots of bandages, and had to huff with his shoulders only because crossing his arms was too painful. He wasn't pleased about being in bed, but getting up and walking around had proven to be near impossible. "I have to see Sven."

"I was just with him," Ace said calmly.

"I need to see him," Kristoff insisted. "He's worried; he's scared that he hurt me."

"I spoke to him."

"He needs me-"

"He says he understands that it wasn't his fault, and he's so sorry he couldn't do anything or stop himself, but you need to get better now, and that's the most important thing." Ace said calmly.

Kristoff just blinked at him. "Uh . . . he doesn't talk, you know?"

Ace shrugged. "Talks to me."

"Huh." Kristoff didn't have anything to say to that.

"You should rest," Ace said getting up from his chair. "Excuse me." He sent a glance towards Elsa, who had been sitting absolutely motionless on the other side of the room, eyes drifting closed. "Queen Elsa?"

She lifted her head, looking around the room. "Hm?"

"Perhaps you should rest, too?"

"I've just got to finish the book I was reading," Elsa said softly. "Shouldn't take more than a few hours."

Anna sent a slightly pained look towards Ace. "Can you get her to bed?"

"Book first," Elsa murmured, her eyes drifting closed again.

"You can't read with your eyes closed," Anna pointed out. "Go to bed, we'll wake you if anything changes."

"If _anything_ changes," Elsa muttered, trying really hard to stay awake, but since hitting Kagami with that little bolt of magic – there was still a warm feeling of satisfaction in her chest at that – her mind had been a foggy haze and she couldn't focus. "If there's so much as a cloud that moves-"

"Yeah, yeah," Anna said. "I get it. Go to sleep!"

Elsa heaved herself to her feet and very nearly sat back down again, but Ace slid to her side and put an arm around her, and she leaned gratefully onto him. He led her carefully upstairs and to her room, despite Elsa's incredibly vague directions ("With the patterns on the door." "…They all have patterns.")

"Will you be alright?" he asked, standing in the doorway and raising an eyebrow at Elsa's impression of a corpse.

"Yes." She spoke into the mattress, because that was how she had fallen over and moving was too much of an effort.

"Alright then," Ace said. He still bowed, even though she wasn't looking. "Good night."

Elsa was already asleep, a deep, dreamless sleep that she hadn't had for weeks. Everything, all the tension, all the problems, melted away.

* * *

"I never said I had doubts, you brought it up on your own!"

"You were standing right in front of me and telling me that everything was a sign!"

"That was _you_!"

Kristoff really wanted to be yelling as loudly as Anna, but when you've broken your ribs it can be near impossible to draw enough air into your lungs. You don't want to waste what little you can get on things like arguing with your fiancé. "It was you."

"Do you _want_ me to cancel the wedding?" Anna demanded, just as irrational as ever. "Is that what you're asking?"

"I wasn't asking you to cancel it; I asked if _you_ wanted to cancel it!"

"Why would you even think that," Anna shouted. Their conversation had been going in circles, both of them were getting increasingly frustrated with the other. "Did you hit your head?"

"No," Kristoff snapped. "I was just trying to do what you wanted me to do."

"I didn't ask you to do anything!"

Neither of them was even sure what the other was referring to now, but the tension building up over the last few days had finally reached boiling point. They were annoyed with themselves, with each other, with everything. And that annoyance was manifesting in the wrong place; the centre of their relationship.

"Then why are you shouting at me?"

"Because you're not listening to me!"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Tell me if you love me!" Anna yelled, both hands clenched into fists and just about two seconds away from actually stomping her feet.

"Of course I do!" Kristoff's tone didn't sound in the least bit loving. "Even if you're an arrogant, hot-headed feisty pants."

"Well, you talk in a grumpy way and smell like a reindeer and I love you even more than you love me!"

"It's not a competition!"

"I _WIN_!"

The conversation appeared to dwindle into childish screaming, so much so that Ace was drawn from his room next door to stand in the doorway.

"What is going on in here?" he asked calmly.

"We don't know if we're getting married," Anna said crossly.

Kristoff just huffed, tried to cross his arms, found that it was too painful, and uncrossed them.

"Princess?" Ace said softly. "Come with me, please."

"Why?" she snapped.

"Just go," Kristoff said irritably. "Leave me alone." He wasn't able to get out of bed, so he needed everyone else to go away and let him be by himself.

"Come," Ace repeated, and Anna made a face, looking like she wanted to punch someone, but she followed him anyway.

Ace led her wordlessly outside, and into the stables.

"Why are we here?" Anna asked, sounding grumpy.

"Because no one will interrupt us here." Ace said simply. "Now, what's got you all riled up?"

"Nothing," Anna said, crossing her arms and hunching her shoulders.

"You're angry at Kristoff, and angry at yourself, you feel very guilty, and now you're taking your anger out on the people who want to help you."

"If you know what's wrong, why did you drag me all the way out here?"

"Because," Ace said, looking directly at her. "You're a spoilt child and you need to understand that the world does not revolve around you."

Anna's jaw dropped. "What?"

"You've had everything handed to you, and now that you're not getting something, you're acting out at the people who want to help you. How is arguing with Kristoff going to solve anything? How is yelling at your sister going to help? You've been holding a grudge against Queen Elsa for years for shutting you out, but that's exactly what you're doing to her right now."

Anna was flabbergasted.

"If you can just be a little less self-absorbed, everything will get easier. You are a Princess, not a brat, and you need to step up and do what's required of you. Your sister isn't going to be able to fix everything for you, for ever. Take control. Now."

"You can't speak to me like this."

"Well, I just did. Because no one else is going to. Instead of asking how everyone can help you, ask yourself how you can help everyone else. Kristoff needs you to be there for him, even if you're angry at him. Queen Elsa needs you to be strong, because she can't bear all of this alone. Kagami is taking her world apart; don't help him. Help her."

"I am," Anna said faintly.

"Are you?"

There was silence; Ace's dark eyes were hard and accusing. Anna summoned the strength to meet them. "I will be."

He nodded. "Alright. I'm sorry for my tone." He bowed shallowly.

"Don't be," Anna said. "I probably deserved it."

"I will be working for the next few hours, but I will return later in the night to see if I am needed. Please make sure Kristoff rests."

"I'll stay with him," Anna promised, feeling suitable chastised. "Uh, Ace?"

"Yes?" He was preparing to leave, but still gave her his full attention.

"I . . . thanks for being there for Elsa. You know . . . when I wasn't."

He smiled, softly. "Any time."

* * *

Elsa woke up because the world was shaking. She leapt to her feet because the sound of ice cracking was familiar and out of place, and by the time she'd stumbled to the window and looked out at the night sky, the world was already falling apart.

The ground was shuddering, the whole castle was groaning, and Elsa's mind finally supplied an answer – earthquake!

And then there was the sound of ice cracking again, and she suddenly realised that her canopy over Arendelle – the _whole_ of Arendelle – was breaking apart.

"No, no, no," she said, and she didn't know why she was saying it because it wasn't going to change the fact that the canopy was cracking and starting to sag and fall-

There was the sound of ice hitting the castle roof, then Elsa saw more of it falling, in shattered fractal shapes onto the ground. Elsa's heart jumped into her throat, because she thought of the damage it would do to houses and crops and people, then rationality caught up and reminded her that the sheet of ice was thin enough not to be deadly, and it was the middle of the night so there were likely no people outside and her brain was just rambling now, making very little sense.

Elsa made a desperate attempt to get rid of the ice, but she could never reverse her powers when she was panicked, and the ground was still shaking, almost as much as she was. And now that she was awake she could hear voices, muffled shouting throughout the castle, and chunks of ice were still falling and smashing onto the ground below.

She ran out of her room, downstairs, into a mass of panicking people.

"Elsa!" Anna was already there, her hair standing on end and dressed in a simple dressing gown. Elsa's scrambled mind immediately thought, _Anna that's no way for a princess to dress in public_, but there were much bigger things to worry about than her sister's state of undress.

"How much damage?" Elsa asked shortly.

"No structural damage so far," someone reported back instantly, "But the earthquake is still going on-"

"The horses are going berserk," someone else interrupted, Elsa's couldn't quite place where the voices were coming from, because everyone was moving. "And that reindeer is going to hurt someone."

Anna and Elsa's eyes met, and Elsa said certainly, "Let them out."

"Are you sure?"

"At least they all have a chance then. If a sheet of ice falls onto the stable roof they are all doomed." Ace's horse was in there too, Elsa wasn't going to risk anything happening to him.

"What about the ice?"

"I'll sort it out," Elsa said surely, going determinedly to the nearest door. There were chunks of ice scattered around the ground, as though a giant hail storm had hit a tiny Arendelle. She stared at the ice, taking deep breaths, because this would never work if she wasn't calm.

Anna was at her side, and that helped, and to Elsa's relief the ice on the ground started growing smaller, melting away into less lethal chunks. The fact that her magic was doing what she wanted made Elsa feel a little calmer, more in control, and her confidence grew, the ice dissipating at a faster rate.

Everything seemed still, and quiet, the mad rush of tension was settling down and Elsa had the feeling that everything would be okay after all; there was no reason to panic. She let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, that's one thing under control."

"How much damage do you think the falling ice caused?" Anna asked tentatively, peering into the moonlit courtyard as though something unspeakable might be visible. "And the earthquake?"

"Don't know yet," Elsa said softly. "Kai? Is Kai around?" Elsa looked into the assembled crowd.

"Right here, your Majesty," the portly man made his way to her side. "Shall I send some people out to check on Arendelle?"

"Yes, please," Elsa said. "And make sure all damage is reported back to me. The ice should have been thin enough not to break through any roofs, but I don't know if that earthquake would have done anything . . ."

"I will send people out immediately." Kai assured her.

"I'm gonna check on Kristoff," Anna said. "He'll be furious that he couldn't get up and do something."

"What was he going to do?" Elsa wondered idly. Catch the falling ice? _That's_ a sure way to recover from reindeer assault . . . She stayed where she was for a while, just staring at the dark sky, before she was interrupted by one of the stable boys slinking carefully towards her.

"Queen Elsa?" he squeaked.

"Yes?" She wondered why he sounded terrified.

"One of the horses was injured," the boy said. "He slipped on the ice when he was trying to run away from the quake."

"How badly is he injured?"

"I don't know. But your vet is with him."

Elsa immediately went outside, towards the stables. She didn't even know why, there wasn't anything she could do. But it seemed important.

The horse was lying on the cobblestoned floor outside, hard to recognise in the dark, and Elsa recognised Ace only by the newly acquired streak of white in his hair. He was sitting at the horse's head, one hand stroking softly through its mane.

"Ace?" Elsa spoke softly.

He did not look up. He kept his eyes on the horse. "He fell."

"I heard. Will he be okay?"

"I'm waiting for my assistants. I need help with him." His words were short.

"What's wrong with him?" She didn't know why, but she needed him to talk to her. He was grounding and sensible, and she wanted an anchor in this madness.

"Probably broken his leg."

"Will it be alright?"

"I highly doubt it." That would explain the short tone; Ace was upset that he might not be able to save the horse.

There was something else nagging at Elsa's chest. "Is . . . is it my fault?"

"He slipped on ice."

"My ice."

Ace had still not looked at her, his hand never stopped moving in slow, comforting movements. The horse's breathing was shallow, but calm. There was a deafening silence around them, now that most activity had ceased.

Elsa edged a bit closer, and for the first time it occurred to her that the horse on the ground looked very familiar.

"It's Princess Anna's horse," Ace said, inexplicably following her train of thought. "Yours is fine, I already checked."

There was a light pattering of rain starting, at the moment soft enough not to be a problem. Elsa stared at the sky, then moved to sit down on an upturned bucket.

"You should go back to bed," Ace said, never stopping his gentle caressing. "My assistants will be here soon and then I'll be busy."

"You'll be alone until then," Elsa pointed out.

She nearly missed it when Ace murmured, "No, I won't."

The silence fell again; the rain was falling a bit harder.

"What happened in Weselton?" Elsa asked after an extensive pause. "With Kagami?"

Ace sighed. "I was only eighteen at the time. The sky turned dark and it poured with rain. I spent most of the time with my mentor; we were busy with the victims of flash flooding and landslides. My brother told me that Kagami asked for all the magic in Weselton, and the Duke gave him what he wanted. I didn't even know there were any sorcerers in our city."

"Then he left?"

"Yes. He had what he needed."

_He's after my magic now_, Elsa thought. _If I give him that . . . he'll go away_. "The sorcerer who's magic Kagami took . . . what happened to him?"

"I have no idea. I don't know if he's alive, or dead, or anything. But the Duke would know."

Elsa rose to her feet again. "Thank you. I'll ask him." She hesitated. "Will you be alright out here?"

"Yes."

Elsa went inside again, she wasn't sure why but she felt incredibly unsettled. The castle had quieted down, most people had gone back to bed once the danger of being impaled by falling ice had lessened. Elsa was about to head upstairs herself when she noticed there was still a light on in the dining hall.

Curious, she peered inside.

Anna was sitting alone, staring at the table top, with a small lantern to light the area around her.

"Hey," Elsa said softly. "What are you doing, sitting all alone?"

Anna heaved a sigh. "Kristoff and I had an argument."

Elsa edged a bit closer, fingers entwined. "Is everything okay?"

Anna sniffed. "It's a silly argument. It was just about seeing Sven. Kristoff was worried, you know? Sven's never heard of an earthquake before, and the stable boys said he was really scared. But Kristoff can't go running around in the dark, he's hurt, and he needs to be careful."

Elsa had a feeling Anna was eventually getting to the point, so she stayed quiet.

"He said he could take care of himself. I said he didn't need to do it all alone anymore, because I was here. For him. And he said," she took another deep breath, "He said he didn't need me."

Elsa sat own next to her sister, keeping quiet.

"He said he didn't _need_ me," Anna repeated, her lip trembling, and the lantern light reflected big eyes brimming with tears.

"Anna, he was just upset. He didn't mean it."

"You don't understand, since he got back he's been saying that maybe we shouldn't get married and he has doubts, and am I quite sure this is what I want." Anna's willpower wasn't enough to stop the tears from spilling over onto her cheeks. "Am I really that stupid? That I can't know true love, ever? Am I always going to be wrong about things like that?"

"You're not wrong at all," Elsa said firmly. "Nothing going on right now is your fault; you understand that, don't you?"

Anna's desperate eyes met the quiet smouldering fury of Elsa's.

"This is not your fault; _none of this_ is your fault. It's all Kagami, he's trying to drive wedges between us, he's trying to push everyone. Do not believe a word anyone says to you until this is sorted out."

Anna stared at the table again.

"Go back to bed," Elsa said after a pause. "You're over tired and that's making everything seem worse than it is."

"I'll go to bed soon," Anna mumbled. "Not yet."

"Will you be alright on your own?" Elsa asked. She really wanted to go back to sleep, but if Anna needed her she would force herself to stay awake.

"I'm fine. Good night."

That seemed to be the end of the conversation. Elsa went upstairs, slowly, with her mind in a jumble. But she found that when she was in her room again she was suddenly exhausted, and sleep came easily.

It was pouring rain all night.

* * *

Elsa confronted the Duke of Weselton first thing in the morning. She didn't beat about the bush, she strolled right up to him, ignoring the sound of rainfall, and asked outright. "What happened to the sorcerer you handed over to Kagami?"

This was clearly not the sort of conversation the Duke was expecting over breakfast, and he required a moment to stare at her before comprehension dawned on his face. "Him? Why do you need to know?"

"I need to know," Elsa said firmly. "What happened to him? Is he alive?"

"No." The Duke admitted. "He's not alive."

"Did Kagami kill him?"

The Duke's eyes narrowed. "That monster asked for all the magic in Weselton. When it was given, he left and everyone was safe. I think that was worth the life of one _other_ monster."

So Kagami did kill him. "You actually let someone be murdered?"

"I did what was necessary to keep the people I am in charge of safe." He huffed. "Perhaps you should think of doing the same."

Elsa was too busy thinking to be offended. The last time they had spoken, Kagami had told her that he was a mirror. And to destroy a mirror, you had to destroy whatever was reflecting in it.

_But that's me_, she thought, slightly alarmed. The only way to get rid of Kagami was to get rid of herself.

"Has anyone seen Ace?" Elsa asked Kai. She had already checked on Anna, the princess was sulking in bed and claimed she was not getting up until everything was back to normal. Kristoff was in a hulking rage because it hurt to breathe and walk and generally exist. Elsa's support system was rapidly evaporating and she needed someone to talk to.

"No, I haven't." Kai replied. "But the stable boys might have."

Elsa was not fazed by the torrential rain; she marched out to the stables. Both of Ace's assistants were still there, just sitting and watching the rain fall. They stood when she approached.

"Where's Ace?" Elsa was too unsettled for polite greetings.

"He took Zephyr out," one of the men answered.

"Out? It's pouring with rain?"

"He said he needed to go for a ride. He left about an hour ago. For the foot of the mountains."

Elsa guessed he was heading for the base of the mountain, where the rocky outcrops provided shelter from the rain and privacy and peace that one could not get in a castle full of people. Obviously Ace wanted to be alone, but Elsa had had enough of being alone. She was allowed to be selfish on occasion, and this seemed like a good time to try it.

"I'm going after him," she announced.

"I'll get your horse," the man offered, pleased to have something to do rather than watching the rain fall down.

Elsa's horse was not amused at being asked to canter through the sloshy, slippery streets of Arendelle towards an even slushier mountain, but Elsa wasn't exactly in the mood to be sympathetic. She had been annoyed enough this morning to rant to Kagami, but he had, for the first time, not answered her.

She was feeling very alone in this whole escapade. And that was worrying her, because the absence of a psychotic, manipulative magic demon shouldn't make her feel alone. Maybe there was something wrong with her, or, even more disturbingly, maybe she did feel some sort of kinship towards him, since they were one and the same?

_Don't even think it_, Elsa snapped at herself. _You're nothing like him at all._

But magic can't be destroyed, only transferred. And that connected them.

Kagami was a mirror, and what you see in a mirror was a reflection of who you really were.

And now Elsa was certain she must have suffered some terrible brain trauma recently because she should _not_ be having these thoughts. Kagami wanted to kill her. He wanted Arendelle to turn against her. He wanted people to think she was a monster.

The unsettling reasoning flashed through Elsa's mind that she had achieved all those same things the first time she froze Arendelle. People wanted to kill her. Arendelle was against her. People thought she was a monster.

Kagami was Elsa's mirror.

* * *

Ace's horse had his tail to the rain; head tucked between his knees, and did not acknowledge Elsa's approach. She wiped the rain from her eyes, looking around for Ace, and found him sitting under a rocky overhang, partially out of the rain, with his eyes already on her.

She dismounted, and her horse adopted the same position as Zephyr, resigned to more rain.

"Hi," she said softly, not sure exactly where the conversation should start. She edged towards him, noting that the rock above them only lessened the rain; it did not stop it completely.

Ace nodded, but didn't speak. He was sitting with his knees up, arms resting idly on them, just watching the world around him.

Elsa sat down next to him, and when he flinched, so did she, because she knew she was radiating cold in her all her stress and worry. She shifted a bit further away, then back again, because she desperately needed to be close to someone.

A long silence stretched out between them, Ace clearly did not want to talk and making conversation was a skill Elsa had never quite mastered.

"Are you angry at me?"

Ace was surprised by her question. He looked at her, his dark eyes seeking out the anxious bright blue of her own, and he shook his head. "No."

"You feel angry." Elsa couldn't explain it, but Ace was just . . . seething.

He tuned his gaze to his hands, linking his fingers together. "Had to put the horse down."

Elsa's heart skipped a beat, because there was another death on her hands, and she knew it was just a horse, but Ace looked so downcast about it that it meant more to her than anything at the moment. "That's . . . my fault."

Ace raised an eyebrow. "No, it's mine. I wasn't able to help him." His hands tightened, nails digging into his skin. "Lost another life, because I wasn't good enough for him."

Elsa shifted a bit closer to him, their shoulders almost touching. She wanted warmth and contact, and he looked like he needed it so much as well. And why had he come here, why had he run away to brood alone when there were people all around him to offer comfort?

Because what else did people do in times like these? Elsa also ran away when things were too much, she also shut people out when she needed them most. "You're the best vet around."

"Well, that wasn't enough, was it?" He was angry at himself, she realised. Not her, and that was a surprising relief. "There was nothing I could do."

Elsa was looking at him, and she wasn't entirely sure the water running down his cheeks was solely from the rain. She leant against him, closing her eyes against the rain and the world and everything. She could almost feel something finally break inside Ace, and he shifted so that both his arms came around her, holding her tightly.

She turned her whole body, pressing her face into his chest, because he was the same as her and they both desperately needed someone and refused to give in to their own emotions. And seeing how upset Ace was over losing a life - just a _horse_, she reminded herself - reminded her that the only way to stop Kagami was by giving up _her_ life.

But if she did that, oh, what would Anna do without her? How would Anna handle the death of another family member? But if Elsa didn't, if she didn't give up her life and magic, then all of Arendelle would suffer, including Anna.

There was no way to protect the most important person in her life, to keep her happy and safe, and that was too painful to face. When the first sob shook her body, Ace's arms gripped her tighter, and she felt his cheek rest on the top of her head, protecting her, holding her.

"I have to do what he wants," she said into his chest, and absently commended him on his ability to understand her.

"I know."

"He wants me dead."

Ace didn't say a word when the ground he was sitting on started freezing over.

"I have to, because I have to protect Arendelle, and this whole city, _my city_, is worth more than just one life. I'm not worth a city."

"You're worth the world," Ace whispered.

"I can't make everyone suffer . . ." Especially not Anna, but either way . . . "Oh, but Anna . . ."

The ice was growing, Ace could feel it creeping up the rock he was leaning against, and tiny little peaks were forming around where Elsa's body was resting on the ground.

The decision felt right, and wrong, and several other things Elsa couldn't describe. How could she go home and tell Anna she was going to let herself be killed? How could she expect Anna to hear that and just continue with her happily ever after?

Elsa had known not every story had a happy ending. But she had hoped hers just might.

That was not going to happen now.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 – Let's Make a Deal

**Uh, so there's about two or three chapters left, I think, and things get a little intense for a while, so don't be surprised if this chapter isn't filled with rainbows and coconuts and happy thoughts. I'm sure things will get better. They can't get much worse, can they?**

They stayed like that until Ace began to shiver, because the rain had soaked through his clothing and Elsa was an icicle in his arms, and the ground around them had been accumulating snow in time with Elsa's muted sobbing.

When he first tried to get up, she grabbed onto him, holding tighter, because she needed warmth and she needed someone and she couldn't bear the thought of him leaving.

"Your Majesty," he said, his words stuttering a little with the cold. "I don't think my getting pneumonia would be very helpful right now."

"Elsa," she mumbled into his chest.

"Excuse me?"

"Elsa," she finally looked up, her blue eyes were tired. "Please, call me Elsa."

He didn't know what to say to that, so he said nothing. He didn't know if that changed anything. There was a moment of heavy silence, then he shifted again, trying to get up.

"Don't leave me." It was barely a whisper, pointed somewhere beyond Ace's shoulder, and wasn't that a change, because she had never, ever asked for someone to stay with her before. It was always 'leave me alone', even the darkest times of despair.

"I won't." Was he allowed to touch her? She was clinging off him like a distressed limpet, radiating cold, and he wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing with his hands. "But we need to get back to Arendelle."

She wanted the warmth, and could not, despite her mind telling her to, let him go.

"You can ride with me." He offered a compromise, because he could read her well by now and knew exactly what she was feeling. "Zephyr will carry us both."

The horse in question blinked at them, hearing his name, and shook a waterfall from his mane.

Elsa detached herself from him reluctantly, but she knew he was right. They stood up, and Zephyr came closer, dropping to his knees for them to mount.

Ace helped Elsa get onto Zephyr, sitting sideways on the front of his saddle, and then climbed up behind her, taking the reins with an arm on either side of her. She didn't mind; she leant back against him, watching the water soaked path ahead of them.

Elsa's horse followed them home.

* * *

Kristoff had successfully got out of bed. He was mottled in an assortment of bruises, and putting his shirt on had proved to be one of the most difficult things he had ever done in his life. But now he was peering out his room, looking for anyone who might see him and tell him to get into bed again.

He had had enough of bed, and thinking, because thinking was leading him down several paths he didn't want to take. He needed Sven, because the reindeer was always willing to listen and offer advice, and Kristoff _hated_ being in bed.

He limped outside, barefoot and barely dressed, because leaning down to put his shoes on had been insurmountable, and he refused to ask for help. No one questioned him as he groaned his way out into the rain, calling softly, "Sven!"

Then he grinned, because he heard an answering call, and then Sven was cantering merrily through the puddles to him.

"Hey, buddy. Whoa, easy," Kristoff blocked Sven's enthusiastic greeting. "Can't hug today, sorry."

Sven nodded.

"Are you okay? I tried to see you last night, but . . ." Kristoff trailed off. Last night . . . when he had exploded at Anna, shouting, "_I don't need you!"_ He remembered her taking a breath, eyes widening. He remembered nearly choking on the tension in the room. He remembered her face crumpling, tears welling, and she screamed back, "I don't need you either!"

He couldn't follow her when she ran, because he was too sore and she was fast and agile. He spent the night tossing and turning, everything hurting. The pain had been a lot more than just physical.

"What am I supposed to do?"

_Apologize_, Sven said. _Duh._

"What if she doesn't want to speak to me? What if she never wants to speak to me again?"

The reindeer was utterly silent, because Kristoff couldn't think of anything to say. He drew in a shuddering breath – it _hurt_ to breathe – and nearly collapsed, because the weight of his problems was slowly shattering his broken bones further.

Sven made a concerned noise, and pushed his neck under Kristoff's arm, bracing his body and holding him up.

"Thanks," Kristoff said breathlessly, leaning onto his friend. "Can we get into the stables? It's warmer in there."

Sven took a step, keeping his eyes on Kristoff. The ice harvester managed to stay upright, relying entirely on Sven to keep him up. They shuffled to the stables, and Sven settled very carefully onto the thick straw, his body a pillow.

Kristoff let his breath out in a gust, finally feeling a little better. Sven nuzzled him, making a few encouraging sounds.

"I'll be okay, buddy." _This is where I belong._

The thought hit Kristoff hard enough to almost make him bolt upright. He belonged _here_, at Sven's side. He belonged in a stable with straw on the floor and a reindeer against his back. This was the life he was supposed to lead; this was the life he wanted most.

But where did that leave Anna?

* * *

Anna heard someone knock at her door, and moaned from the bed. "I'm not here!"

"It's me." Elsa said uncertainly.

"Oh. You can come in." Anna sat up.

Elsa entered the room, and closed the door again behind her.

"Is your hair wet?" Anna asked.

"It's raining," Elsa snapped. Anna started at her tone, and Elsa sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm a little tense."

"Join the club," Anna muttered.

Elsa came over to Anna, and climbed into the bed next to her. She had at least changed out of her wet clothes, but Anna still shifted.

"You're freezing! Where have you been?"

Elsa immediately flushed, "Um, nowhere."

If Anna hadn't been feeling so depressed so would have jumped on her sister's sudden discomfort. But instead, she just flopped onto her back, staring at the ceiling. They sat in silence for a while. "Elsa?"

"Yeah?"

"What are we going to do about Kagami?"

It began snowing, little flakes falling from the ceiling.

Anna shot her sister a sideways glance. Elsa was curling into herself, like she always did when she was uncomfortable, knees drawn to her chest and arms wrapping around them. She closed her eyes, because she didn't want Anna to see the shadows that lurked in them.

"Elsa?" Anna sat up again. "Are you okay?"

"I have to protect Arendelle," Elsa said haltingly, and she hated the fact that her voice was breaking. "It's my responsibility."

Something twisted inside Anna's stomach, something frightened, because Elsa didn't dodge questions, and she didn't speak as though her words were crushing her.

"I have to keep everyone safe." The word 'safe' broke in two, and Anna had the discomforting feeling that her heart was soon to follow.

"Elsa?"

"He'll go if I go too."

"Elsa." Anna wrapped her arms around her sister. "Don't say that."

"It's true. It's _right_. There is nothing else I can do."

Anna's grip tightened. "There must be another way."

Elsa didn't see another way, because she didn't know how to kill him, and that was the only other solution. Elsa had thought the worst day of her life was telling Anna she couldn't marry Kristoff, and seeing the hurt and betrayal in her sister's eyes.

But now, looking at Anna, it was clear that this was much, much worse.

"You can't do this," Anna said. "You can't give in to him. I won't let you."

Elsa swallowed hard. _It's not up to you . . ._ "Anna, it's about more than me. It's about Arendelle. It's about everyone."

"But even if you give up your powers, how do you know he'll leave? How can you be sure he won't come back and . . . and do something?"

"Because," Elsa gulped, "He would never lie to me."

* * *

Ace found Kristoff and Sven in the stables when he put Zephyr away for the night. He didn't say anything, just quietly sorted out his horse.

Kristoff pretended he wasn't there, staring fixedly at his feet with an expression of concentration on his face.

"Does Princess Anna know you're here?" Ace asked.

Kristoff shook his head.

"Does she know you're busy making a bad decision?"

Kristoff looked up. "What?" he asked faintly.

"I can see it," Ace leant against the wall. "You look like you're questioning something important, and you're not happy with where your thoughts are going."

"Are you a mind reader?" Kristoff didn't sound annoyed.

"Just good at looking."

Another weighty silence descended, then Kristoff sighed in defeat. "I don't know where I belong. I . . . I want it to be with Anna, by her side, protecting her, but . . . But that's not who I am. Castles and people and royalty? I grew up in the wilds . . . I can't change who I am, but I really need to, to make Anna happy."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"I need to clear my head. But I can't, because Anna . . ." He looked at Ace. "What would you do?"

"Close your eyes."

Kristoff, although puzzled, did as he was told.

"What do you see?"

"Black."

"You know what I mean."

Kristoff sighed again, blowing through his nose. "I see the forest. That's the first place my mind goes."

"Then take your body there too, and the two will work together again."

"Run away?" Kristoff opened his eyes.

"No," Ace said firmly. "You're not running away from your problems. You're running towards them. You can't think clearly here. Go to where you can think, and everything will become clearer."

"What if it doesn't?"

"It will. It always will."

"These are big problems, Ace, this is my future and happiness and Anna's happiness. These are _huge_ issues I'm dealing with, and they're too big for me."

"They're too big _here_. But it's funny how some distance can make everything seem smaller." Ace pushed himself off the wall. "You will know what you want when you're where your thoughts are."

"How are you so good at talking?"

"Because I don't do it often. I prefer looking to talking. And when words are used sparingly, you only use the ones that really matter."

"Do I say good bye to Anna?"

Ace paused on his way out of the stables. "That's up to you."

Kristoff sat in that stable for a long time, thinking.

* * *

Elsa didn't know how late it was. The answer, she was certain, was 'very'. But she couldn't sleep. She was in bed, because she thought that might help, but she was sitting up, restless and unsettled. She had thought about her own death before, many times, but it had always been about her.

At the times when those thoughts had run most rampant through her mind there had been no one else to turn to. And she had always felt that killing herself would not leave anyone behind to mourn her.

But now there was Anna. There was Olaf – she was certain he would melt when she died. There was Kai, who had stayed by her side through years when even her parents had not been there. There was Arendelle. Before the Freeze, Arendelle had been an intangible part of life, something that lurked at the back of her mind but was inconsequential.

But now it was _hers_, and she didn't want to let it go. She wanted to keep it, hold it, and have it. Now people depended on her.

_They did fine without you for three years_, her mind betrayed.

_But it's _mine_ now; everything in Arendelle is mine . . ._

_It can all be Anna's_. Elsa was in a stalemate with herself.

_You're worth the world_, Ace had said. He was wrong, Elsa told herself. She wanted him to be wrong. She wanted him to be wrong because if he was right she had to face up to something she wasn't ready to face.

"If you kill me," she whispered, hoping Kagami would hear her, "You can't use my powers again."

The night was silent.

"Why should I make a deal with you?"

Elsa nearly leapt out of bed when he appeared; small and non-lethal, lounging across the end of her bed like an oversized cat. She gathered her thoughts, quickly. "If you take my life, you take all my mistakes with you."

"But I like your powers. There is beauty and danger in it." Kagami's tail swirled gently from side to side; he was slightly translucent and difficult to see, highlighted in moonlight.

"Take my powers," Elsa repeated, "But never use them. You have to leave Arendelle, and especially Anna."

There was a dark mark on his side, like a burn. Elsa's eyes were drawn to it, and Kagami flitted into her mind, and out again, and spoke darkly, "You hurt me, you know."

_Good_. She didn't need to say it, he would hear it anyway. "Listen to me." She chose her words carefully, chose her thoughts even more carefully. "You can take my power. All of it. But you leave Arendelle, you leave Anna, and you never, ever use my magic again."

Kagami seemed to be waiting for her to say more.

"And in return . . . I won't use my magic against you, either."

Kagami's empty eyes narrowed. "Come again?"

"Do what I ask, and I will not use my magic against you again."

The burn on his side was staring back at her, a shrivelled, angry mark marring the marbled scales along his side. "Anything else?"

"Yes." Elsa hesitated. "I have a few questions."

Kagami solidified slowly, Elsa could now feel his weight on the edge of her bed. "Go on."

"What were you, before all this? You said you used to be like me." Elsa jumped slightly as visions appeared in her head, hazy images with watercolour backgrounds that obscured details. She saw a man, her age, changing form from human, to a tree, a horse, anything he could see.

"I was human once, too. I could mirror the things around me."

Elsa could feel his happiness; it melted into her and she felt her own heart lifting. "You were happy."

"I learnt to take magic." The images faded, the happiness faded. It was replaced with nothing – just _nothing_. "I could change who I was. I stopped being merely human, and became power. And now, it is all I need to survive."

"You manipulate people to get what you want. You threaten the lives of others so yours can continue."

"Yes."

"But why?"

"Because I do not know death, and I do not know fear. I am limitless. I am a mirror, and I will exist as long as there is something to be reflected in me." Kagami's hollow eyes were watching her. "When you look in the mirror, what do you see?"

Elsa closed her eyes, her chin dropped onto her chest. "Please go." She needed to be alone; she needed to think and plan and face the fact that she had just told a magic demon to kill her to keep Arendelle safe.

Kagami melted away, and Elsa told herself this was the right thing to do. She was sacrificing herself for Anna, as Anna had done for her, because she loved her sister with all her heart. And Anna would be fine, because she had Kristoff now to take care of her. And the open gates, just the way she loved it.

And Ace.

Why had Elsa thought of him?

* * *

"Kristoff left."

Elsa didn't know the day could get off to such a bleak start. She stumbled for words, taken completely off guard by Anna's dull declaration. She was up, but not dressed, caught in the awkward moment between sleep and waking. "Um, are you sure? I mean, he wasn't kidnapped or something?"

She was pretty sure it was the first time she had ever wished a kidnapping on someone.

Anna was staring at the floor, shoulders drooping, her hair still in wild disarray, small and defeated. "Sven and the sled are gone too."

Elsa didn't know what to say.

"He didn't even say good bye." Anna whispered, because her voice was broken.

_Do not panic_, Elsa ordered herself. _This is a completely unrelated to – oh._

And there was the last piece of the puzzle. When Kagami's plan to take the trolls' magic as well – which Kagami had already said Kristoff didn't agree to – did not work out, it was obvious that the demon was going to have to get his magic from Elsa alone. And Elsa would agree to it, provided Anna was safe. And Elsa knew Anna would be safe, because Kristoff would be there to take care of her when Elsa was gone.

Only now, it seemed like Kristoff might not. And Anna would be all alone.

She couldn't be all alone.

_Do not panic_, Elsa repeated, and she wondered why she wasn't taking her own advice.

Anna stayed standing in Elsa's door way, chewing on the end of a lock of hair. "It's okay. It doesn't matter."

"Of course it does," Elsa said, going to her, wanting to hug her, but Anna stepped back.

"I'm going back to my room," she said softly. "If you need me. But you won't."

Elsa knew she should say something, but she just twisted her hands together, uncertainly. What now?

The rain outside thrummed a little louder, reminding Elsa that there was a problem here that she couldn't solve.

Elsa wanted to crawl back into bed and hide until everything magically fixed itself, but she had barely finished the thought when Kai was peering into her door, which was still half open after Anna's retreat.

"Queen Elsa?"

"I'm not home," she groaned, feeling exhausted.

"There's a flash flood higher up the mountain, it might come further down into Arendelle."

"We're going to flood?"

"Not the whole city, but I feel the need to remind you that we live in a valley surrounded by mountains, and there has been relentless rain for two days now."

"I don't really like your tone."

"I don't really like my bed floating away when I'm in it." Kai still had the decency to bow with his snarky words. "What shall we do?"

"Where's Ace?" Elsa didn't know why it was important to know where he was, but he would most likely have something helpful to say.

"I will find him now. Also, there are a lot of unhappy people downstairs who want to speak with you."

The thought of a wedding seemed very far away and remote. The thought of two hundred annoyed guests was nauseating.

Elsa sat down on the edge of her bed rather abruptly. The stress was going to kill her before Kagami did, and she didn't find the thought all that comforting.

"Are you alright?" Kai asked, sounding concerned.

"No," Elsa moaned. "I'm not! Anna's upset, and Kristoff's left her. My city is underwater, the only way to protect it is . . . is to kill myself, and everything is going wrong at once and I don't know what to do!" It had been quite a few years since Elsa felt like bursting into tears and just bawling her eyes out, but the need was rapidly returning.

"Elsa," Kai said gently, and the use of her name and not her title made her look up, and feel like a vulnerable child again. "Take a deep breath, and relax."

"That's not going to help," Elsa muttered.

"I won't help all the problems, but it will help you." Kai waited until Elsa had taken a moment to just breathe, then he continued, "I'll take care of the guests. Gerda will make sure Princess Anna is alright. I can send riders after Kristoff, if you would like."

"No," Elsa said. "I might need them here. Who knows what this flooding is going to do . . ."

Kagami was getting desperate, and Elsa was terrified that he was going to do something drastic. He had already told her he needed magic to stay alive, and her idle plan of denying him until he died had already proven to be futile – he knew just how to get what he needed from her.

What if he did something worse this time? What if it was more than a few pinpricks? What if it was more than one person? Elsa had to think fast, and she had to act fast, because Kagami was one step ahead of her. Her plan had to work before he put his into motion. She just wished she had a better plan.

Freeze everything? That didn't work well last time. Evacuate Arendelle to the Southern Isles, overthrow their enormous royal family and pretend everything was fine?

Elsa was calling that plan B. "I need Ace. I need a favour from him."

"I'll find him right away."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 – Boiling Point

**I really struggled to write this; there's a lot of challenging bits in it. Especially near the end, so I'm not very happy with it. I would have liked to spend a few more days mulling BUT blergh. Anyway, I was in a bit of rush to get this out here, because I am going away for the weekend and won't have internet. So, it was either struggle through this chapter but give you something to read, or only update next week. I aim to please. I hate this chapter. Carry on.**

"I need you to walk Anna down the aisle, because I won't be able to."

There was a short, significant silence in which Elsa stared at Ace, wondering why he wasn't answering, and Ace stared at her, wondering if she'd been dropped as a baby.

"I'm sorry?" he finally asked. He had been summoned by Kai, and was standing in Elsa's study looking more confused than she had ever seen him. This had not been what he was expecting.

"Look," Elsa said, trying to sound reasonable. "Kagami's going to kill me. In a few days, or even a few years. But until that happens he'll torture everyone in Arendelle, and it'll be _my fault_. I can't allow that."

"So your brilliant plan is to hand yourself over to be killed?" His voice didn't sound in the least bit angry, just mild and level, wildly contrasting to his thoughts.

Elsa hesitated, because she was afraid to say what she was thinking, she was afraid to even think it.

Luckily, she didn't need to. Ace's keen dark eyes took in everything, and he nodded. "You've got another plan. But you don't know if it will work. In fact, you're quite certain it won't."

"It's a long shot," Elsa admitted. "But either way . . . I'll get rid of him."

Ace didn't know what her plan was, but it was clear was Elsa was unsure about it. He filed the information away, and returned to the matter at hand. "So, after you let yourself get killed-"

Elsa flinched.

"- You're expecting your sister to just go ahead and get married?"

"It doesn't have to be today, or tomorrow, or even this year. But when she does . . . I need you to be there in my place. Please." There was a load of desperation in that word.

Ace breathed through his nose, heavily, pressing his lips together. He said after a pause, "I'll do what you ask. I gave my word that I would."

"I need you there," she said, suddenly, as though the thought had just occurred to her. "I'll need you. When . . . when Kagami kills me."

That was a burden he wasn't sure he could bear, because he had already lost a life _– just a horse_ – because he hadn't been good enough to save it. Did Elsa think he was good enough for her? Or was this just to comfort herself, because after a lifetime of being alone, she didn't want to face her final moments like that. But she had asked this of him, this impossible favour that transgressed the boundaries of their friendship (Is that all it was? He wasn't sure.) and so he was going to bear it whether he could or couldn't.

"I will be wherever you need me."

Elsa didn't feel at all relieved, but she knew she should have. Her insides were twisting into knots, she felt absolutely sick with morbid anticipation. Did she tell Anna? _How_ did she tell Anna?

Anna knew Elsa had been toying with this decision – _He wants me dead_ – but she didn't know it had been set in stone. She had to know; she couldn't wake up one day and suddenly find her sister gone . . .

The thought of it, of looking Anna in the eye and saying "I'm going to let him kill me" made her feel faint and ill, and Elsa thought for a second she might actually throw up right then and there.

But she didn't, even though her vision swam and the room felt far away, and the knots inside her twisted even tighter. She was vaguely aware that Ace was talking again, sounding blurry and distant, and her head was buzzing.

She couldn't do this, this was impossible, this wasn't supposed to happen, but it was still raining outside, and things were still going wrong.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and Ace's distant voice sounded a bit closer, but no clearer.

"Elsa?" He gripped her a bit tighter, close enough for her to notice him, far away enough that she wouldn't feel trapped because she hated being touched. And then he was talking in his soothing voice, and Elsa wasn't a spooked horse but she was just as fragile and skittish, and his words were penetrating the fog in her brain. "Elsa, keep calm. It's okay, I'm here now. I'm right where you need me to be. Hey, look at me."

She did, noting absently that he was crouching down next to her seat, still with a hand on her shoulder. He was just as blurry as her thoughts, and she assumed that was because her eyes were full of tears.

"Anna," she squeaked, knowing that he would understand, and a brush of cold air against her face told her that her inner turmoil was creeping outwards.

He was still there, right there, with snow dusting into his hair, and his face so calm that Elsa believed that perhaps the world wasn't ending. "It's alright, you're alright."

And then she couldn't stand it anymore, and she fell forwards onto him - he caught her easily – and the tears spilled over and she was clutching at him and sobbing into his shoulder and snow was swirling around them. Her throat hurt, her stomach hurt, and oh, her heart hurt _so much . . ._

She couldn't tell him what she was thinking. That she was petrified, not for herself, that if she broke Anna's heart again . . . this time no one would be able to put the shattered pieces back together again.

* * *

Anna was tired of being in her room. And being alone gave her too much time to think. And all she could think right now, with her face pressed into her damp pillow, was that she really wanted Kristoff to be here.

She wanted to curl up in his strong arms, breathe in his scent, because she wanted him, no matter how angry she was with him. She had to have him, and the back of her throat ached with unspoken need.

She was afraid he wouldn't come back, and even thinking it brought on fresh tears. She had believed that he wanted her as much as she wanted him, that the two of them had ceased to be Anna and Kristoff and were now AnnaandKristoff, _one_ person, one life and one heart.

And maybe that's why hers was aching so badly. Because half of it had run away.

* * *

"Ow."

The sled hit a bump in the path.

"_Ow_."

The sled bounced over a root sticking out of the ground.

"Stop!"

Sven screeched to a halt, looking back over his shoulder with a puzzled expression.

Kristoff had been holding his breath, hoping that the squeeze of his lungs would stop his broken ribs from hurting (it did not). But the jouncing sled had been too much, and it had to stop.

"Just," he breathed, "Just stay still for a moment."

_This was your stupid idea,_ Sven reminded him.

"I know, I know." Kristoff sighed. "I needed some space. That's all. To think."

He had done enough thinking. He didn't need to think any more.

Sven was still staring at him, waiting to be told something. Waiting to go back to Arendelle.

_Everything will become clearer_, Ace had said. Well, it wasn't. Kristoff couldn't think clearly at all, all he could think about was Anna.

And the fact that he'd left her.

Without saying good bye.

_All alone._

And he was an _idiot_.

"Sven, take us home." Home. Of course it was home, how could he ever doubt that? Kristoff was kicking himself mentally, because he was a fool and an idiot and why on earth did Anna love him so much?

_Because you're a moron, but apparently she goes for that. _Sven snorted, turning the sled around.

"Yes, I am." He needed her. He wanted her. And he suddenly realised why arguing with her had hurt so much – because it was like cutting off a part of himself. He and Anna _had_ to be together, it was all that made sense in the world.

His world.

She was his world, and he knew that, he had always known that. Every step away from Arendelle had been harder, because she was the centre of his universe, and her gravitational pull was dragging him back. He was going to be a part of her life, forever, and he wanted forever to start right now.

* * *

Anna had run out of tears. She was going to find Kristoff. She was going to apologize. She was going to demand that he stay by her side

forever, because that's where he belonged, and she didn't care what either of them had said the past few days – it was all in the past.

She wanted to give them a fresh start. She wanted the other half of her heart to come back.

Anna went to find Elsa, searching first in her room, and then the library, and when both were empty she went to Elsa's study, where the door was ajar and there was snow spilling out of it into the hall way.

"Elsa?" Her voice was hoarse, too much crying, and she swallowed hard and tried again. "Elsa?"

There was a strange sound, and when Anna peeked around the door Elsa was scrambling up from the floor, trying to put some distance between her and Ace.

While that was interesting, it wasn't the first thing in the forefront of Anna's mind, and she chose to ignore it in favour of declaring in a raspy voice, "I'm going after Kristoff."

Elsa stood in the snowy room, eyes red, and just gaped at her sister.

"I don't know where he's gone, but I'll find him. I have to."

Elsa found her voice. "But . . ." Maybe not all of it.

"I have to," Anna repeated. She couldn't explain it, but . . . she was following a part of herself. She wouldn't be whole until Kristoff was next to her again.

"You can't go now," Elsa finally managed a sentence, and the rain outside drummed down a bit harder, emphasising her words. "It's not safe."

"It'll never be safe," Anna pointed out, "Because that crazy demon is going to keep doing this forever."

Elsa paled, and Anna had a feeling she had found the cause of the snow in the room.

"Elsa?"

"He'll stop," Elsa said, her voice just more than a whisper. "I'll make him stop."

The rain was relentless, and Anna stared at it. "You can't stop him. He wants to kill you. This . . . this is just how it has to be now." She was so naïve, so optimistic that everything would work out, that it didn't matter what happened, there could still be a happy ending.

"The sun will be shining on your wedding," Elsa promised. "I will make sure of that."

Anna heaved a sigh, a heavy, distressed sort of sound. "I'm going to find Kristoff." She turned around and started walking away.

"Wait," Elsa said, scrambling after her. "Anna, we have to talk."

"We can talk when I get back." She didn't look back. She didn't turn back.

Elsa followed her, and Ace followed them both at a suitable distance because he wasn't convinced either of them was of particularly sound mind right now. Anna paused at the foot of the stairs, staring at the suits of armour, keeping her eyes away from Elsa.

"As soon as this is over," Elsa said, "You'll get married. Everything will work out."

"How do you know?"

"I know. I have a plan."

Anna turned, her eyes hopeful. "You can fix this?"

"I think so." Elsa bit her lip. "I'm pretty sure I know what to do. But Anna, please promise me . . . whatever happens, as soon as this is over . . . please get married. Because Kristoff makes you happy, and that's all I need for you." And too many things had stood in the way. Elsa needed to know that Anna would be alright without her, she needed to know that Anna would have someone else.

"Okay," Anna said, raw, childish hope blossoming in her chest. "When everything's over. When you fix it all . . . Right away. Right then, I'll get married."

"Because it's what you really want." It didn't sound like a question, but it was.

"It's what I really, _really_ want," Anna said. She smiled, for the first time in days.

Elsa felt her spirits lifting slightly, there was a bit of relief that Anna would be alright. And she would, Elsa knew that, because Anna was stubborn and strong, and no matter what life threw at her she was able to overcome it. She closed the gap between them, wrapped her arms around Anna and it felt so good to finally be close to her again.

Anna hugged her back, her arms strong, and for a moment, Elsa thought that the next day or so wouldn't be so bad.

Then she felt the all too familiar brush of Kagami against her consciousness, the rain lessened so he could focus his power elsewhere, and before the world turned upside down he murmured into her thoughts, "I'm running out of time. And that means you are too."

Elsa felt Anna stiffen slightly in her arms, and a feeling of dread spread throughout her body.

* * *

Anna had only a second to question it; this strange feeling that suddenly took over, that felt like someone was invading her thoughts. And then she realised that that was exactly what was happening, and she was about to convey that unsettling discovery to Elsa, but to her mounting distress she couldn't.

She couldn't do anything. She couldn't move, at all. She couldn't speak. She could only sit helplessly inside her own head, her thoughts swimming. At least she could still think.

_What the hell? Hey! Why can't I do anything? I'm gonna beat you so bad you won't-_

_Please don't fight me_, Kagami purred, and if Anna had been able to she would have shivered because his voice was _everywhere_, resonating around her thoughts.

Anna realised she could still see, and she saw that Elsa had taken a step away from her, looking quizzically at her. "Anna?"

She sounded so, so far away, and Anna had to strain to hear her. _I'm right here, Elsa, and I don't know what's happening . . . _there was a dizzying sensation as she looked around – her head was turning without her command – and then her eyes were locked onto the suits of armour lining the walls.

_Look away, look away!_ She ordered desperately, but her body was clearly on its own mission and she was just a helpless prisoner watching from behind her own eyes. She felt herself reaching, she tried to stop, but her hand closed around one of the spears held by the armour.

* * *

Ace connected the dots faster than Elsa did, and he grabbed her arm, pulling her back towards him and away from Anna as she jerked the spear free from the armour's grasp. Elsa stumbled, her eyes locked onto her sister, and finally comprehension was dawning, and with it came a veil of anguish that caused her to freeze in place.

This here, _this_ was desperation and despair and breaking point. Elsa knew she wasn't breathing properly, how could she possibly be breathing properly when she knew that wasn't Anna there?

Kagami had taken over, pushed her sister aside and possessed her body.

_How could you do this?_ She thought, her mind still whirling. Fear. Confusion. Panic. Everything rushed through her.

Kagami didn't answer, but the maniacal gleam in Anna's eyes _– that's not Anna_, Elsa thought stiffly – was answer enough.

"Elsa, stay back," Ace warned, because Elsa was still rooted to the spot in complete disbelief, and she was not firing on all cylinders. He grabbed her arm again, because not-Anna was thrusting the spear forwards and Elsa was not doing anything to defend herself.

It turned out she didn't need to.

A wall of ice sprang up around her, instantly, and narrowly avoided slicing Ace's arm off. He jumped aside, figuring it was relatively safe to leave Elsa to solve this problem on her own. The spear hit the ice with a dull clang, and not-Anna's face contorted in irritation.

Elsa was still battling her disbelief, and she continued to just stare at Anna, her heart pounding. _This isn't happening, this can't be happening, Anna!_

Anna wanted to wrestle Kagami's hold on her mind, but it didn't matter how hard she was thinking, his control was absolute. _Let me go or I'll start screaming!_

It didn't even register with her how idiotic the thought was, but when you've had your body possessed you don't think very logically.

Not-Anna was still wielding the spear, smashing through the layer of ice around Elsa. It was fragile and shattered into thousands of pointed shards.

Elsa jerked back, her hands coming up to shield her automatically, but as soon as she moved her arms ice blue magic spurted from her, towards Anna.

It was by sheer stroke of luck that Kagami was both quick enough and aware enough to block the magic with the spear – there was a split second where Elsa was glad for his attention to detail, because she would have hurt Anna otherwise – but it hammered home the fact that Elsa could not fight her own sister. She just couldn't.

"Leave her alone," Elsa said. She had hoped to yell that angrily, but she was too afraid for Anna's safety to be angry, and her voice sounded small and terrified. "This isn't about her!"

"Collateral damage," not-Anna snarled, thrusting the spear forwards again.

Elsa was still backing away, too fast, she was certain she was going to trip and fall and oh, god, that sounded just like Anna. _Of course it did_, Elsa's mind betrayed her, _because it is her._

Elsa clenched her hands, but there was still little bits of ice flying from her against her will, and she backed up faster, trying to keep Anna out of the line of fire. She wasn't breathing right, she was panicking and the world was swimming around her. She had to focus, stay calm, figure this out-

But Kagami was advancing on her, smashing any pillars of ice that rose up, and the noise was starting to attract attention. There were people crowding in the doorways, peering down from the top of the stairs above them, and Olaf had wandered in and was standing next to Ace.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Why is Anna trying to hurt Elsa?"

"She is not!" Elsa shouted, then jumped when her magic sprang from her without warning, cluing into her discomfort and narrowly avoiding Anna.

"Anna, don't do that!" Olaf sounded alarmed, and tried to run towards them. Ace grabbed his arm.

"Stay with me, little guy." The vet crouched down. "Don't get between them."

"But . . ." Olaf was confused. "But . . .?"

"It's Kagami, not Anna," Ace explained, watching as Elsa tried desperately to avoid being impaled whilst not firing ice at her own sister. "Stay here, you'll be safe."

"Anna needs me."

"I know."

_You're upsetting Elsa_, Anna thought angrily. _Stop it!_

_That's largely the point._

_I'll large _you_ with a point!_ It didn't make sense, but Anna was too fuming to notice. She had a moment to feel something change in her head, feel a different sort of emotion run through Kagami. It was anger. Annoyance.

Then there was a sudden searing pain running through Anna's skull, and she wished she could scream because she needed to get this pain out somehow, but she was trapped in her own head and she couldn't do anything. He was punishing her, quieting her, making her realise that he was in control.

And she could still see the spear in her hands, thrusting and swinging at Elsa, and it suddenly dawned on her how helpless she was, how _hopeless_ everything was. And she suddenly knew how Elsa had felt for days on end, because she felt it now – uncontrollable despair, the world breaking apart around her, and an inability to see a way out.

_Please don't hurt her_, the physical pain faded, Anna's thoughts sounded small. _Please_.

_Let her go_, Elsa begged, _please, please let her go!_ She didn't know what else to do, because eventually she would run out of room to run away and then she would be at the end of a spear, her sister on the other side, and there would be nothing she could do because Elsa would not, ever, hurt her sister.

She had no way out of this.

Not-Anna swung the spear again, and now Elsa was backing outside, still keeping her hands in check. And that was important, because she was shooting ice uncontrollably; it hit the ground and rose up in sharply jagged peaks.

The rain hit her, and for once she noticed the cold. And there was also snow mixed in with the rain, reflecting Elsa's turmoil.

"Let her go!" Elsa screamed again, and another wild bolt of ice flew from her, landing harmlessly on the ground. "I'll do anything!"

There was a slight pause. Anna stayed still, with her hard eyes still on Elsa and the spear still in her hands. The tension was suffocating, and the only sound was Elsa's fear filled breathing.

"Please," she said, her voice a whisper. "I'll give you all my magic, right now. Just let her go."

It was an irrational move, and Elsa knew it the moment she said it. Because she wasn't ready now, but she _had_ to do this . . .

Anna's face suddenly went back to normal, in a split second she gasped sharply, and took one disoriented step forward.

"Anna!" Olaf ran to her, breaking out of Ace's hold. He ran to hug her.

Anna caught Elsa's eyes, hers distraught, and she sank onto her knees in the doorway. The spear clattered down next to her, and she put her arms around Olaf. Her breathing was ragged, Elsa recognised the signs of despair, and she wanted to run to her sister and hold her and not let her go for hours-

_All your magic, right now._

But Kagami stopped her in her tracks.

He appeared before her, monstrous in size, and Elsa felt her courage falter. What was she doing? Was she mad?

It was still raining, and snowing, the ground beneath her was very soft, and Kagami was sinking into the grass, leaving clawed hollows from the weight of his body.

"Remember what you promised me," Elsa said, her voice shaking slightly. "Leave Arendelle. Leave Anna. Don't use my powers."

"And you," he growled, his voice was everywhere, around her and inside her, "won't use your powers on me."

Elsa nodded. It was a short, panicked gesture.

Ace came to Anna's side, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. He couldn't offer the comfort Elsa would have, but he was still there, and she needed someone there. She hadn't moved from where she had collapsed on the floor, her cheeks streaked with tears, and holding onto Olaf for dear life. The snowman was watching Elsa, his face strangely blank.

Kagami shifted in place slightly, melting into his cloud form, and Elsa tensed. Then he reappeared, small and solid, and looking almost human, except for his hollow black eyes. Elsa guessed this was what he must have been like before he turned himself into a dragon, before he changed form and became a monster. He stared at her; she could feel fear twisting into her stomach.

"I need you there," she had said to Ace, "I'll need you."

He waited now, his hand tight on Anna's shoulder, straining forward with a desperate need to protect her.

"You're not going to try anything?" Kagami sounded curious, because so far Elsa had not given in easily to anything.

"I said I wouldn't use my magic on you," she replied simply, staring him down, and Ace really hoped she had a better plan than this.

She felt something change inside her head, something agonizing snapped into place and then when Kagami lifted both his hands hers raised too, against her will, and there was a powerful flare of terror in her chest. He linked their hands together, his empty eyes never leaving the stricken blue of her own, and Elsa could feel her ice snapping around inside her, equally panicked.

Her chest heaved, she still wasn't breathing right, and her hands were starting to freeze his, tendrils of ice fusing them together. She could feel what he was feeling; a discomfort as the ice bit into him, a hollowness inside that needed to be filled. He slid into her mind, and Elsa's wide eyes flickered, once, downwards, then back up.

He was part of her, and she was part of him. What he thought, she thought. What he felt, she felt. And neither one of them would ever lie to the other, because you can't lie to your reflection. The thought she had been hiding, the plan she had been entertaining without certainty, was all she could think of now.

_I'll never use my powers against you_. Elsa felt him brush against the thought, wondering why it was pounding around her head so prominently.

To destroy a mirror, you need to destroy the thing reflecting in it.

_But I'll use them on myself._

"What the-" Kagami's thoughts were interrupted, Elsa's panic shot through her and into him, and she closed her eyes because she knew this was going to hurt-

A single, pointed icicle, like the first time Elsa had ever used her powers against him, sprang from nowhere, from the depths of her mind, and jabbed into her chest, right through her heart. A gasp, of shock and pain and disbelief that she had even done it, escaped her, and Elsa's eyes opened for just a fraction of a second.

But a fraction proved to be enough, because her powers had done exactly what she had thought they would do, and an exact mirror of her icicle was stabbing right through Kagami's heart as well. Then that fraction of time ended, and the world exploded into black and red and frigid pain.

Elsa felt her heart hitch, straining around a spear of magic, then she felt dizzy and everything went upside down and completely black.

* * *

"_ELSA_!" Anna had screamed loud enough to threaten Ace's hearing when she saw a spear of ice suddenly jut right through Elsa and out her back. She tried to crawl forward, but Ace's hold was unbreakable.

Olaf stopped moving, he was suddenly inanimate. He had ceased to be anything more than a snowman, frozen forever in a single pose, just three lifeless lumps of misshapen snow.

Ace nearly collapsed as well, eyes widening. _Oh, god, Elsa, what have you done?_

***Hides under desk* Please don't hate me for the cliff-hanger. I'll update as soon as I'm back from holiday . . .**

**SpicedGold**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 – Worth the World

**Well, I don't know about you guys but I had a **_**fantastic**_** weekend. I spent most of the two-hour drive singing Disney songs and now I am hoarse. Anywho, this is the final chapter of **_**Reflections**_**. I've really enjoyed writing this and I hope you guys enjoyed reading it.**

**Proceed :-)**

There was no blood pumping in Kagami's heart. That had ceased long ago, and it was only magic that ran through him. Magic, that was currently going berserk due to the icicle inside him, reflecting Elsa's pain and actions, and warring with it and changing form uncontrollably.

His mirror was shattered. His mirror was slumping onto the ground in a senseless heap.

And her magic was burning him, suffocating him, drowning him, tearing him apart piece by piece. Then he started to move, to separate and mist away in a haze of disjointed colours.

He floated away like a cloud, breaking apart into chunks and vanishing into the air, swept along with the wind. And soon all that was left was a bare skeleton, lying on the grass, because that was all he had been for hundreds of years, and without the magic to change who he was, he was merely a shell of a person that had once lived.

A skeleton lying in the mirrored position of the Snow Queen, motionless.

The rain and the snow stopped, and the sky cleared.

* * *

Anna was screaming, and gulping, and tripping over her own feet as she ran, stumbled, to where Elsa was lying, completely static, and with ice still jutting from her chest.

"Don't touch her," Ace found his voice again, following closely behind her. He dropped onto his knees at her shoulder, taking in the situation, forcing himself to be calm because this is clearly what Elsa meant by "I'll need you."

Anna was on her knees as well, hovering over her sister's lifeless body, her tears running down her cheeks and each breath a devastated sob and choke.

"Not breathing," Ace murmured. He didn't know what to do about the ice. "No pulse."

Anna's sobs reached a crescendo at his words.

He took hold of the ice with both hands, pulled it, hard, and it slid cleanly from Elsa's chest. There was no blood, and he didn't have time to be fascinated by that. Ace threw the ice aside, one hand over where it had penetrated. Her cold skin was not broken; her magic had not injured her physically.

But she still wasn't breathing.

Anna's tears dripped onto Elsa's face, she couldn't stop looking at her, and it was only when Elsa jerked that she realised Ace was doing chest compressions, his eyes on his hands, counting grimly under his breath. After a moment, he tilted Elsa's head back slightly, placed his mouth over hers and blew hard.

When he straightened, hands poised to start again, Elsa suddenly coughed, her whole body shuddered and to Anna's overwhelming relief her eyes flickered open.

"Elsa," she collapsed onto her sister, sobbing unashamedly into her chest, hands clutching.

Elsa coughed again, drew in a halting breath, and Ace gently turned her head to the side so she could breathe a bit easier. After a few minutes of gasping for air, and trying to breathe past the pain in her chest, Elsa groaned and lifted one hand to her eyes. "Am I dead?"

"Not anymore," Ace said. "Just for a moment." He glanced towards the skeleton; all that remained of Kagami.

Elsa's shaking hands finally found Anna, and she held onto her, eyes closing again. Everything hurt, and she was dizzy, and having Anna on top of her wasn't helping her breathe, but she couldn't tell Anna to get off either.

"Princess," Ace said carefully. "Maybe give her a bit of room to breathe."

Anna shot upright again, one hand coming up to her face to wipe at her eyes roughly. "I'm okay, I'm sorry, I'm just . . . Elsa . . ."

The Queen in question struggled to sit up; no part of her wanted to cooperate. Ace reached towards her, and shifted his body so she could sit up against him, leaning back into his chest. Anna found one of her hands, and held it tightly. Elsa sent her a wan smile, exhausted and aching.

She hadn't known if that would work. She knew her magic couldn't hurt her, it was _hers_, but she knew that she still _felt_ as though it was hurting her. There was just no physical evidence of it. And obviously Kagami had been ill-designed to take an icicle through the heart.

"Guys!" They were interrupted by Olaf, running towards them. "I just had the craziest dream!"

The snowman prattled on about his near death (very near) experience, and Elsa rolled her head to the side, so she could look up at Ace. She couldn't smile, she didn't have the strength, but she met his eyes and said softly, "Thank you. For bringing me back."

He could smile, and he did, his dark eyes soft and warm. "I'm definitely sending you a bill for this."

Elsa nearly choked on a laugh, but it made her feel better, and the pain in her chest was easing.

* * *

Sven shot into Arendelle, as fast as he could, and Kristoff was bracing himself on the sled because the jolting and bumping was agonizing. But there was snow falling, and that was never a good sign.

_Anna_, his mind kept repeating. What if something happened to Anna?

When Sven screeched to a halt directly outside the castle doors, Kristoff jumped from the sled. Running hurt, any movement hurt, but right now his heart was hurting even more and he forced himself to run.

He couldn't shout, because he couldn't breathe, but he could see no snow in the castle, which meant that whatever was bothering Elsa was outside.

When he ran outside, he stopped dead, because Anna was sitting on the grass with her face streaked in tears and her skin pale, and Ace was holding onto Elsa, who was not moving-

"Anna!" It was the most unmanly shout ever, and he dragged himself to her. She saw him, and her face crumpled again, not because she wasn't happy to see him – her heart soared – but because now there was someone to ease her pain and she just couldn't keep it inside anymore.

She leapt into his arms, her breathing ragged sobs and his jagged and pain filled, crying, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't leave me again!"

"I'll never leave you," he choked on his words, the pain and emotion gathering in his throat. "I'm so sorry that I did. I love you, I _love_ you. Please forgive me."

They babbled to each other, each one begging forgiveness and accepting apologies, and finally Anna calmed enough to shakily explain what had happened. By that time, Ace had already gathered Elsa into his arms and was carrying her inside.

She looked so still, Kristoff was afraid that she wasn't as revived as Anna made her out to be, but her eyes were open and following them around. Kristoff had to put Anna down, it felt like his broken ribs were spearing into his lungs, but he didn't let go of her, and she kept an iron grip on him.

Ace carried Elsa upstairs, talking to her in a low voice that only she could hear, while Olaf explained loudly and intricately to everyone what had happened.

Kai was white as a sheet, and Kristoff wondered if someone was going to need to carry _him_ upstairs as well. But the old man stayed upright, hovering behind Ace, and pulled back the covers on Elsa's bed so Ace could lay her down gently.

"She'll be okay," Ace said, his voice placating. "She was only dead for a minute or so. Nothing a bit of rest won't fix."

Elsa's blue eyes were locked on him, and she wanted to smile but her whole body felt so heavy and dark and she just needed to sleep for a bit. Anna looked torn between sliding up next to her sister and keeping hold of Kristoff in case he vanished when she let him go.

Ace sighed, a huge sigh of relief, and started to walk away. But Elsa's hand gripped his, squeezing tightly, and he stopped in place. Her eyes were closed now.

He got the hint, and sat down gently on the bed next to her, and looked at Anna. "I'll stay with her. You can go."

"I'll stay too," Olaf said. "Then I can fetch you when Elsa wakes up, and she won't be alone."

There was a visible drop in Anna's shoulders, the tension releasing. "Okay."

Olaf waved enthusiastically as Anna and Kristoff left, still clinging to each other. He clambered up onto the bed on the other side of Elsa, and sat down. "How long will she sleep for?"

"Probably ages."

"And you're sure she'll be alright?"

"Yes." Elsa squirmed slightly, her sleep uncomfortable, and Ace leaned down towards her face, whispered softly, "You'll be fine, Elsa."

He didn't know why, but she relaxed at those words.

* * *

"Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue," Anna muttered to herself, fidgeting with her hair. It was perfect, it had been for ages, but she needed to fidget with something.

"It took two people to get your hair like that, stop trying to undo it," Elsa sounded exasperated, coming into Anna's room just in time to see her sister man-handling her hair. She had to stop in the doorway, because Anna looked amazing.

Her dress was white and lacy, with layers of flowing patterned filigree that billowed around her, and her hair was in an intricate series of braids and a bun, with a few locks hanging around her face. Anna spun to look at Elsa, and stopped dead. "Oh, Elsa, you look just like Mama."

Elsa hadn't been prepared to hear that; she squeezed her eyes shut to block out the tears that threatened. And when she was under control again, she opened her eyes to find Anna staring at her with a look of complete adoration. Elsa twisted her hands together self-consciously, and wished she could hide behind something, but her hair was upswept and beautiful, knotted with braids and cascading down her back.

She had made the dress herself, even getting the ice to be sky blue in some places and snowy white in others, and the blue shimmered as it caught the sunlight.

"Don't cry, you'll mess up your make up," Anna chided softly, and then sniffed and wiped her nose, and her hypocrisy drew a chuckle from Elsa.

"You look beautiful," Elsa said.

Anna's cheeks coloured slightly, because Elsa sounded enraptured. She didn't know what to say, she stopped herself from fidgeting with her hair again, and instead changed the subject. "So, I've got my something old . . . the white ribbon in my hair was Mama's. And something blue."

Elsa looked her sister over quizzically. "I don't see something blue."

"Oh, you won't," Anna turned bright red, "But Kristoff will see it later."

Elsa let that slide.

"And something borrowed," Anna held up a wrist, there was a fine silver chain around it with tiny white stones embedded into some of the links. "It's our cousin's; she said I could have it for the day. Just need something new."

"Here." Elsa stepped closer, and reached out two fingers. She touched Anna very lightly on the front of her chest, and Anna started slightly when she felt something cold taking shape around her neck. She went to the mirror, and stared.

There was an icy necklace glittering against her skin, with two intricate snowflakes dangling from the centre. "Thank you," she breathed.

Elsa smiled. "You're welcome. Are you ready to get married?"

"I've been ready for ages."

* * *

Kristoff looked uncomfortable, twitching and tugging at the collar of his suit when he thought no one was looking. Sven stood at his side, immaculate for the first time in his life, and sporting his very own collar and bow tie. Elsa had tried several times to get Kristoff to change his best 'man', but Kristoff had been insistent that Sven was the person for the job.

To Elsa's immense relief, Kristoff had asked Ace to read the speech later on at the dinner, because she didn't think she could take half an hour of Kristoff talking about himself in a goofy reindeer voice.

Kristoff tried unsuccessfully to not squeak when the procession started, and he caught sight of Anna, and Sven nudged him gently. Anna, poised and graceful for the first time ever, glided down the carpet towards the archway and the priest, with Elsa on her arm, looking as straight backed and regal as ever.

Kristoff expected Elsa to pass Anna off with some sort of threat (I'll freeze you if you ever so much as _think_ of hurting her) but to his surprise, relief and joy, Elsa looked him directly in the eye and said, "Thank you."

He nodded, because talking around the lump in his throat might be impossible.

The ceremony went perfectly, but Elsa missed half of it because she was wiping tears from her eyes. Olaf trotted carefully with his rings, looking immensely proud of himself. When they finally kissed, Elsa couldn't clap because she pressing her hands together too hard, holding them up to her mouth in an attempt not to break down into joyful sobbing.

And she failed utterly, because Anna turned around and grabbed her in a hug, shaking with happiness, and there went Elsa's composure, flung into the wind. Olaf joined the hug.

* * *

"When we were little," Elsa began, staring into her glass and trying to remind herself that this was for Anna but she _really_ hated making speeches, "our parents used to read us stories of princesses who spent years trapped in their castles, until one day they would be saved by a prince."

Anna was still smiling, her eyes going from Kristoff, to Elsa, and back again.

The massive table was fully occupied, everyone listening attentively.

"When that fairy-tale became our reality," Elsa continued, "I quickly learnt that no prince was coming. And fairy tales weren't real. And not every story has a happy ending. But Anna always believed that they did, and that one day there would be a prince for her, to rescue her from her castle, and they would live happily ever after.

"That belief actually caused a problem, but it also solved one. Anna and I rekindled our relationship, and she managed to find, not a prince, but an ice harvester, who rescued her from wolves, and from me, and from everything that Anna could possibly get into trouble with, and that's a long list."

Kristoff coloured under Elsa's gaze, but he looked proud of himself.

"Anna never did find a prince. But she found Kristoff. And she found me. And she changed the world for both of us. Anna?"

The princess in question snapped upright in her seat.

"You were never the princess trapped in the castle. You were one rescuing people. You are the hero of so many stories. And I hope that you can find your fairy tale in your life with Kristoff." Elsa raised her glass. "To Princess Anna of Arendelle."

Anna bounced from her seat and nearly spilled Elsa's drink when she locked onto her sister with a hug. It was not the most conventional move ever, but it was _her_, and Elsa didn't mind. Elsa had to complete her toast with her sister attached to her, but she didn't really care, because Anna was happy and that was worth a little unorthodox behaviour.

When she finally sat down again, so that their feast could begin, Anna kept a hand in hers.

"You could have had a longer speech," Anna murmured, making her way with speed through her champagne.

"I think it was long enough." Elsa wasn't sure she would have been able to stand for much longer anyway, what with the excitement of the ceremony and oh, yes, killing herself two days ago. She still stiff and unsettled from that.

Speaking of it . . . Elsa's eyes roamed the room for Ace. He was nowhere to be seen. He had been there for Kristoff's best man speech – Kristoff was still grumbling that Sven could have done it, there was really no need to get Ace to read it, and there was room at the table for Sven but _Elsa_ made him stay outside – but Elsa had lost sight of him during her speech, and she wasn't sure where he was now.

She waited until after dinner, then told Anna that she was just going to find him, and she wouldn't be long.

Anna was far too buzzed to really mind, and she was making her way through the desert table with cheerful abandon and a few snide remarks to Elsa about always wanting to know where Ace was. Elsa sort of hoped Anna might be too drunk to remember that by the next morning, but her sister's resilience had never been doubted before, so it was likely that Elsa was heading towards more endless teasing.

Ace was rubbing Zephyr's forehead, with the horse pushing happily into his touch, when Elsa found him, in the stables.

"Ace?"

"Yes?" He offered her a smile. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright." She fidgeted. "A little sore, I guess. So, um, are you . . . leaving?"

"I am, actually," Ace said, turning his full attention on her. "I leave later tonight."

"You could stay here. I wouldn't mind." Elsa stopped herself from rambling on, but she felt inclined to.

Ace shook his head. "I think you're misunderstanding. I'm not going to my home in Arendelle. I'm going _home_, to Weselton."

"But-" That shouldn't have caused Elsa to have a panic attack, but it did. She scrambled for words, "But you said you came here for work. Don't you need to stay here?"

"Everything is fine back home, now. I miss my family. I want to see them again." Ace took a step closer to her, and waited until her wildly flickering eyes finally rested on his. "Elsa, I'm not leaving for good."

"You're not?"

He shook his head again. "Besides, Zephyr hates ships. He'd be much happier if he stayed here, and then I'll have to come back to see him, won't I?"

"Yes . . ."

"I have friends who will be happy to take him, and-"

"I'll keep him."

"What?"

"He can stay here." Elsa tried to look like it wasn't a big deal, but Ace could read her like a book and knew exactly what she was thinking; _if he's here you'll come back to me._ "Anna's probably going to want my horse, and then I'll need something to ride . . . And he'll be very well cared for here."

Ace was smiling. "Thank you. I'd love it if he was here."

"But you can stay too," Elsa said, sounding slightly frantic, because she really wanted him there. "And there's still celebrations going on. You could join in."

"Thank you," Ace said, his voice very soothing, and Elsa could feel some of the tension leave her. "But I really must go. I'll write you a letter when I'm home, so you know I got there safely."

"Can I write to you, too?" Elsa surprised herself with the question.

"Yes. I'd like that." They were standing closer than they had before, just inches away from each other.

Elsa kept her eyes on his, waiting for something to happen. She leaned a little closer, unconsciously, because it felt like she should and-

"Good bye, Elsa," Ace stepped around her, suddenly in a hurry. "I left you a present for your birthday, with Kai." He didn't meet her eyes again. "Please keep Zephyr safe."

Elsa stayed where she was, staring blankly, because it felt like something was missing from that conversation, but she couldn't quite pin down what it was. She heard him leave; she didn't try to stop him.

Zephyr snorted at her, watching her, and Elsa stood next to him for ages before she went back inside. Alone.

* * *

"Your vet left this for you." Kai handed her a large, rolled up piece of paper tied with a white ribbon.

"A piece of paper?" Elsa wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it certainly hadn't been that. She took it, curiously, but she didn't have time to open it just then. Anna came shooting into the room, still dressed in her wedding dress, and Elsa felt her heart skip a beat because she was so beautiful and so happy.

Anna enveloped her in a giant hug.

"Careful," Elsa held the rolled up paper aloft. But she used her free arm to hug Anna back, closing her eyes for a second and just enjoying the moment.

"So, is Ace going to move in?" Anna beamed at her sister. She might have had just a bit too much alcohol. And pudding.

"He went home," Elsa said faintly.

"Home?"

"To Weselton."

Anna let Elsa go, and stepped back, studying her. "Oh. Are you okay with that?"

"I don't know," Elsa admitted.

"Oh. Well. Um." Anna shrugged. "Do you want to go outside? The party's already started, and it looks amazing. But you know that, because you organized everything . . ."

Elsa had tuned out Anna's rambling, she was staring at the rolled up paper in her hands, and suddenly she had to know what it was.

"…And the champagne is amazing, I've had, like, ten glasses, and Kristoff told me to stop."

"I'm not going to the party."

"Oh." Anna looked disappointed, but not for long. "Well, that's okay. You can whatever you want. I'll be there until late, so if you feel like joining in . . ."

"Okay." It wasn't really an answer, but Anna understood.

She hugged Elsa again, briefly. "Love you."

"Love you too," Elsa's arm gripped her tightly. "More than anything else in the world."

They finally parted, and Elsa tucked some stray hair behind Anna's ear. "Good night."

"I'll check on you later," Anna promised. "And save you some champagne." She dashed away again, leaving Elsa standing alone with both hands on Ace's gift.

"It's your party too, you know," Kai said softly.

Elsa had forgotten he was there. "I know. I've had enough excitement for a while, though."

Kai understood as well. "Good night then, my Queen."

"Good night, Kai." Elsa went upstairs to her room, and closed the door.

She leant against it, staring at the paper in her hands, and after a pause she finally undid the ribbon and unrolled it.

It was a large, intricately detailed map of the world, with a note in the bottom right corner.

_The world isn't perfect, but that's what makes it beautiful._

_ Ace_

She remembered his words, whispered fiercely into her ear, _"You're worth the world . . ."_

When Anna came to check on her later that night, Elsa was sitting at her desk, writing a letter.

The End.

**Finally! A conclusion I am actually happy with! I shamelessly stole Ace's map quote from Full Metal Alchemist because I couldn't think of anything original on my own. Anyway, I really want to write more fanfiction but I have run out of ideas. Anyone got any for me? Please?**

**Thanks for reading**

**SpicedGold**


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